Fico reprimands his own coalition
In a video posted on social media, Fico declared that Smer would not "politically exploit" the preparation of the budget and consolidation, and that he expects the same approach from his partners. Specifically, he objects to Hlas using billboards to claim credit for the thirteenth pension and for the pay rise for police officers. Pravda ↗Different outlets read the same address differently. HN summarized it as an attack — "Fico took a kick at Hlas." HN ↗ TV station ta3 turned it into a headline about the government's fragility: according to them, the prime minister "has to try enormously hard for the government to survive." ta3 ↗ SME, on the other hand, emphasized the opposite angle — that it is Hlas that holds the leverage: it "is making the adoption of the state budget conditional on its own proposals." SME ↗
The opposition expects escalation. Movement Slovakia MP Július Jakab warns that autumn will bring "coalition hell," in which the partners will "blackmail each other with the threat of the coalition collapsing" — all the more so in an election year, when everyone wants to "tear off their own piece of the pie." ta3 ↗
Smer strikes back: moving to remove Dubéci
Last week, PS turned Fico's favorite word "parasites" against Smer — according to the opposition, the party's own Smer Agency allegedly benefited the prime minister's son from state money. Now Smer is counter-attacking. Gašpar announced "new findings" about the acquisition of public funds by persons linked to the opposition, though he did not specify them in a discussion program; at the same time, the coalition is preparing a motion to remove Dubéci from parliament's leadership, accusing him of "parasitism." ta3 ↗Dubéci responded sharply: unlike Gašpar, he is not facing charges or standing trial — a jab at Gašpar's indictment in the Očistec case. "If you want to remove me, do it," he told the coalition. Pravda ↗ PS leader Michal Šimečka called the accusations against Dubéci a "hoax." Štandard ↗
Some caution is warranted here: Gašpar did not publicly specify or substantiate his "new findings" during the program. Aktuality described the entire exchange as both sides slinging "buckets of dirt" at each other. Aktuality ↗
Also read: What Slovakia is writing about: PS turned Fico's "parasites" against Smer
Ambassadors, Kažimír, and "one package"
A second front is ambassadorial nominations. Next week Pellegrini is set to appoint Hlas MP Peter Kmec as ambassador to Rome and independent MP Miroslav Radačovský as ambassador to Cyprus. Pravda ↗ The opposition opened fire: KDH chairman Milan Majerský called Radačovský a "Russian troll" and a "disgrace to Slovak diplomacy" SITA ↗, while Za ľudí leader Veronika Remišová called the president an "opportunist and notary of Fico's government." SITA ↗Interior Minister and Hlas leader Matúš Šutaj Eštok downplayed the affair, saying: "If Ms. Magda Vášáryová could be an ambassador, then anyone can be an ambassador by now." In the same program, he lumped the nominations, the confirmation of National Bank of Slovakia governor Peter Kažimír, and the filling of Constitutional Court judge seats into "one package" together with the approval of the budget. Aktuality ↗
An interesting point of agreement across the trenches: both coalition member Šutaj Eštok and opposition figure Majerský alike described the July referendum organized by the extra-parliamentary Demokrati — on a lifetime annuity for Fico and the restoration of the Office of the Special Prosecutor and NAKA — as a "12-million-euro promotional stunt." The referendum is scheduled for July 4. Aktuality ↗
Pellegrini enters his third year
Two years after taking office in the palace, commentators are offering restrained assessments. SME summed up the first two years with the headline "exactly what was expected of him" SME ↗ and added in a commentary that "President Pellegrini is still a work in progress." SME ↗The president himself announced that he will deliver his report on the state of the republic only in September HN ↗; Nový Čas read this as a "clear message to the coalition." Nový Čas ↗ On a hot cultural-ethical issue, he took a reserved stance: same-sex marriages concluded abroad will not be registered in Slovakia, he said, invoking the constitution. Štandard ↗
Under the radar
Away from the main headlines, the Public Defender of Rights (Ombudsman), Róbert Dobrovodský, warns that people are "now more afraid of the hit to their budget than of the procedure itself" before a medical examination — according to him, fees deter patients from seeking preventive care. HN ↗ Frustration is growing in the east: Korzár writes that after promises of "light at the end of the tunnel," part of the region again feels "cut off." Korzár ↗ And Košice paid for an external analysis advising it to slim down its municipal administration — Korzár called it an "expensive thesis paper." Korzár ↗On the diplomatic front: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Bratislava on Sunday evening — according to Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár, this is the first-ever visit by an Indian prime minister to Slovakia since the country's independence. During his one-day program, he will meet with both Pellegrini and Fico. TASR ↗
What hotinfo is watching
- Budget and the "package": whether the coalition will indeed bundle the ambassadorial nominations, Kažimír's confirmation, and the filling of Constitutional Court seats together with budget approval, as Šutaj Eštok has signaled.
- Dubéci's removal: whether Smer will present the promised "new findings" about PS, or leave it at an announcement — and when it will put the motion on the agenda.
- Ambassadors: whether Pellegrini will indeed appoint Radačovský and Kmec next week despite opposition criticism.
- The July 4 referendum: the question of a lifetime annuity for Fico and the restoration of the Office of the Special Prosecutor and NAKA — we are watching turnout and validity.
- State of the republic: Pellegrini's report, announced for September, and its message to the coalition.
