Prime Minister Robert Fico told journalists on August 19 that he will submit a motion for the dismissal of Environment Minister Viliam Turský (a nominee of the Slovak National Party (SNS)) to President Ivan Gašparovič on August 20, the TASR was informed.
Fico also announced that when selecting the next candidate for the post he will not accept a nomination from the SNS. In accordance with the 2006 agreement between ruling coalition parties, the post of environment minister comes under the remit of SNS. Until a new minister is appointed, said Fico, one of the current cabinet members will head the ministry.
The Prime Minister (chairman of the Smer party) says that the decision was preceded by bilateral, top-level negotiations between Smer and SNS. He cited the repeated inability of SNS nominees to handle decision-making processes at the Environment Ministry as the reason for his action.
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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