A schism is emerging over the structure of opposition party Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO), with its chairman Igor Matovič conceding there are people who would like to see what is currently defined as a 'political movement' become a traditional political party.
The question of transforming the party's status from a loose grouping of independent personalities to the status of a regular political party, with a more solid institutional and organisational structure, has emerged with respect to the upcoming elections for the country’s eight regional governments set for 2014. OĽaNO plans to tackle the issue by the end of August, according to Matovič.
"There are opinions – however isolated – about our transformation to a standard political party, and everything that comes with it. However, when I look at political parties, I can only see the negatives that come with it," Matovič said to the TASR newswire. He will be doing his best to prevent OĽaNO from becoming a traditional political party. In his opinion, there will be little benefit from such a transformation and, overall, OĽaNO has always claimed it will not become one.
OĽaNO MP Peter Pollák claims the people behind such suggestions come both from the members who serve in Parliament as well as those outside the parliamentary caucus. One of the promoters of such a proposal is OĽaNO MP Alojz Hlina, for whom it is strategic to have a firm platform, and to work within a functioning system. According to the news-only television station TA3, Hlina isn't ruling out the possibility of leaving OĽaNO over the issue. [Ordinary People, as it was then known, broke onto the political scene in 2010 as an adjunct to the Freedom and Solidarity party (Sas). Matovič and SaS leader Richard Sulík soon crossed swords and Matovič spent most of the past term as an independent lawmaker. Matovič, for example, disavows standard political practices such as voting along party lines - ed. note]
(Source: TASR)
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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