Confidence obtained, court "schooled" the government
The vote, which the government had postponed since fall, ultimately turned out better than the coalition expected. 78 MPs voted in favor of the confidence motion; of the 72-member opposition, only 54 showed up to vote against, which the prime minister called striking. SITA ↗ Over two and a half years, the coalition lost only a single MP (Ján Ferenčák from Hlas), and after the vote Fico declared that early elections are off the table — he is preparing for the regular term in 2027. Pravda ↗ The prime minister himself claims the government respects the Constitutional Court and that this was merely fulfilling a formal obligation, and that its consolidation efforts are also appreciated by the European Commission and rating agencies. SITA ↗The trigger was a binding interpretation by the Constitutional Court: the phrase "without unnecessary delay" in the debt brake law must be read as immediate action, not as the 30-day period that part of the coalition had assumed. The two-year exemption from the strictest sanctions expired on November 22, 2025. Aktuality.sk ↗ Constitutional expert Marián Giba points out that it doesn't end with the vote — in the fall the government must also fulfill a second obligation, a balanced budget, or the court could strike the budget down. "The government doesn't have to convene at midnight, but it should fulfill its obligation within a matter of days," says Giba.
Newsrooms read the outcome differently. SME wrote in its morning briefing that "the Constitutional Court schooled the government." SME ↗ A Pravda commentator saw it the opposite way — in his view the coalition "triumphed," and the confidence vote came in handy for the opposition too, which he says is not yet ready to take power. Pravda ↗ Denník N, meanwhile, noted that as long as the debt brake remains unenforceable in practice, "it pays for the corrupt to keep such a government together." Denník N ↗ We wrote about the background of the whole dispute before the vote as well.
Also read: Fico's government to vote on confidence Thursday, forced by the Constitutional Court
Budget for 2027: September versus "permanent chaos"
The certainty from the vote was supposed to give the coalition strength for negotiations on the 2027 state budget. Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenický wants to push it through parliament as early as September, even though the statutory deadline runs until mid-November. TV ta3 ↗ However, the coalition partners come with conflicting demands: Hlas (Richard Raši) insists on the 13th pension, the inviolability of the second pillar, and higher police salaries; SNS (Andrej Danko) demands faster pension growth for people over 85 and unification of VAT rates. The transaction tax remains the biggest point of contention: if it were scrapped, the budget would lose half a billion euros. "If necessary, I'll sacrifice it for the budget — but I'll have to find that half a billion somewhere," Kamenický admitted. TV ta3 ↗The opposition questions the timeline. "We will not be approving the state budget in September, you can quote me on that," declared PS leader Michal Šimečka, predicting a fall marked by "permanent chaos and squabbling" within the governing coalition. TV ta3 ↗ Meanwhile, pressure is mounting both from outside and within: Moody's did confirm Slovakia's A3 rating with a stable outlook Pravda ↗, but the Council for Budget Responsibility warns that debt is growing similarly to during past crises Denník N ↗, and analysts speak of a looming "debt trap" that parliamentary support alone will not avert. TV ta3 ↗
Defense under scrutiny: training via a company without a license
While the prime minister calls NGOs Slovakia's "biggest problem," his own Defense Ministry is facing questions over tenders. Denník N ↗ The Ján Kuciak Investigative Center found that the ministry paid over €1.2 million for pilot training for two new Bombardier Global 5000 aircraft (purchased at the end of 2024 for more than €40 million). However, the company that won the contract, Elite Jet, has neither the authorization nor a simulator itself and merely brokered the training through the Canadian company CAE; a public procurement expert points to possible contract splitting, while the ministry defends itself by saying no such company exists in Slovakia. SME ↗ At the same time, the Interior Ministry is reworking its tender for automated radars following conclusions from the Public Procurement Office. TASR ↗ Kaliňák's ministry also faces a possible lawsuit over defective load-bearing columns at the Prešov hospital, for which the Hungarian contractor denies responsibility. interez ↗Fico in Brussels and on domestic fronts
At the Brussels summit on EU competitiveness, Fico highlighted the case of a Slovak aluminum plant, which he says suffered because of climate targets and emissions pricing; in negotiations on the EU's future budget, he wants to push for the interests of cohesion and agricultural policy. TASR ↗ SME ↗ At home, meanwhile, his rhetoric toward Ukraine has shifted — after meeting with Zelensky (another meeting announced, according to SITA, in Gdańsk) and his first conversation with new Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar, he now speaks of a "stable and democratic Ukraine." SITA ↗ Political scientists read this as a turnaround after he lost his ally in Orbán, while the opposition claims he is "turning his coat." STVR ↗ Nový Čas ↗Tension between the government and civil society also has a cultural dimension. Pohoda festival organizer Michal Kaščák warns that the Interior Ministry wants to dictate what people can say at the event, and demands a resolution "within a week"; former President Zuzana Čaputová and Czech President Petr Pavel are expected at this year's Pohoda to discuss the theme of identity in a polarized Europe. Aktuality.sk ↗ Aktuality.sk ↗
Under the radar: Torden back on the list of conspiracy outlets
Away from the main headlines, the Constitutional Court ruled in favor of the Konšpirátori.sk project — finding a violation of its right to freedom of expression, after which the Bratislava Regional Court struck down the measure that had banned listing the publishing house Torden among disputed websites. Torden, which publishes books questioning Ukraine's existence and denying the crimes of Stalinism, is thus returning to the list after years, with a rating of 7.7. The ruling on freedom of expression thus paradoxically also strengthened the right to "talk back" — that is, to publicly label content as conspiratorial. SME ↗ Denník N ↗What hotinfo is following
- Fall round of the debt brake: will the government submit a balanced budget for 2027? Marián Giba expects another test of willingness to respect the constitutional law after summer.
- Budget by September: will Kamenický make the earlier deadline, and will the transaction tax, which holds up half a billion euros, survive?
- Local governments: ZMOS insists on exempting towns and municipalities from debt brake sanctions — whether the government will yield.
- Defense Ministry tenders: will the ministry publish the contracts, and what conclusions will the Public Procurement Office reach on the radars; developments in the dispute over the Prešov hospital.
- Pohoda 2026: Kaščák's one-week ultimatum to the Interior Ministry.
- Foreign affairs: the announced meeting between Fico and Zelensky in Gdańsk and a hinted visit to Budapest.
