What Slovakia is writing about: Taraba refuses to leave, Danko threatens ultimatum via parliament. Indicted Gašpar predicts his end

Over the weekend, Environment Minister Tomáš Taraba definitively refused to resign despite pressure from his own party SNS, and signaled that if he is dismissed he will return to parliament as an autonomous MP, while SNS chairman Andrej Danko insists on his removal and threatens that if Prime Minister Robert Fico does not submit a proposal for his dismissal by September 15, he will do so himself through parliament. At the same time, Taraba, together with Investment Minister Samuel Migaľ, admitted that the entire Ministry of Investment, Regional Development and Informatization (MIRRI) could be abolished in the name of public finance consolidation, and Taraba additionally questioned the purpose of the Ministry of Tourism and Sport, led by SNS nominee Rudolf Huliak. Beneath both disputes, the question of money is quietly running as well: expensive fuel is pushing the coalition toward talks on lowering the excise tax, while the abolition of the transaction tax is, according to Fico, once again uncertain, and the ECB has meanwhile raised interest rates again. By evening the picture had shifted: the coalition council concluded with a statement that it had agreed "without any disagreements," President Pellegrini asked parliament to allow him to deliver a state-of-the-republic address, and Danko's ultimatum expires tomorrow — the day the session opens.

Taraba defies, Danko escalates pressure

On Saturday, Taraba broke his silence about his fate at the ministry and sent SNS a message: "I am not for sale" Pravda ↗. A day later he repeated it even more sharply: "I am not for sale, not even a sack of potatoes," adding that he has no information suggesting he should leave the ministry after September 15 ta3 ↗. At a press conference he added that the results of his work give him no reason to be dismissed TERAZ ↗.

In Sunday's discussion program, Danko explained specifically what bothers him about Taraba — according to STVR he suggested a connection between the minister's neighbor and Italian firms, though he did not specify the details of the accusation STVR ↗. The SNS chairman also refuses to say Taraba's name at all and believes that MP Filip Kuffa will become the new minister Štandard ↗. Prime Minister Fico joined the dispute by admitting that he is "unhappy" about how the conflict between Taraba and SNS is developing Markíza ↗. Denník N, in its weekly overview, described this behavior as Taraba "blackmailing" the prime minister — this is the editorial team's assessment, not a quote — referring to the fact that the minister has signaled he will push his own legislative proposals in parliament if dismissed. Fico himself closed his weekend video by saying that on Tuesday "the house of horrors, as I call parliament, will start negotiating," since pushing through anything, including the budget, will be nearly impossible amid coalition disputes, in his view Denník N ↗.

Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Tibor Gašpar (Smer-SD) estimates that the whole dispute will not come to a head until the end of September SITA ↗, and is convinced that Fico will ultimately actually dismiss Taraba Pluska ↗.

The coalition council met Monday evening and ended without the announced blow-up. The session at the Government Office began shortly after 4 p.m. STVR ↗, after which the office announced that the coalition had "agreed on a joint approach without any disagreements" to opening and running the September session. The statement says nothing about Taraba or his dismissal. TASR ↗ Interior Minister Šutaj Eštok summed it up cautiously afterward — each of the governing parties had defined its own priorities. TASR ↗

Tuesday's agenda, meanwhile, does not suggest Taraba's dismissal. The daily Pravda noted that the agenda for the first day of the session does not include a proposal to dismiss the minister, even though Danko's ultimatum expires precisely on Tuesday. Pravda ↗ Aktuality adds that as an autonomous MP, Taraba has several ways to trouble the coalition majority. Aktuality.sk ↗

The judicial thread: an indicted man predicts the minister's end

Gašpar's own role is itself contentious — he leads parliament as deputy speaker despite facing indictment in the Očistec case ta3 ↗, a long-running police and judicial corruption case in which he features as a former president of the Police Force. Parliamentary Speaker Richard Raši (Hlas-SD) sees no reason to remove him and considers him "fully trustworthy" SITA ↗, which he also confirmed in an interview for Pravda — according to it, Gašpar should remain at the helm of parliament, though the opposition explicitly disagrees Pravda ↗. Opposition figure Ivan Korčok, in a direct exchange on TA3, criticized him for the fact that while Gašpar himself faces indictment, the coalition is simultaneously questioning the departure of Prosecutor General Maroš Žilinka — which Korčok called "hypocrisy" ta3 ↗. Gašpar, for his part, insists that calls for Žilinka's departure are not an attack on the rule of law, merely legitimate criticism of the missing "oversight framework" over the prosecution service — Korčok disagrees and says it is exactly such an attack Hospodárske noviny ↗. A more pointed take came from an opinion blog on SME, which called Fico's call for Žilinka's departure inconsistent, noting that the Prosecutor General had in the past cooperated with the government, for instance on abolishing the Special Prosecutor's Office — this is the blogger's own opinion, not a news claim SME Blog ↗.

The procedural thread: parliament returns, abolishing a ministry also on the table

MPs return to their seats on Tuesday after the summer break — nearly 300 agenda items await them, including the dismissal of several ministers Hospodárske noviny ↗. SNS chairman Danko says he believes in the coalition's stability, but opposition SaS chairman Branislav Gröhling says that right at the start of the session he wants to "show his cards" and genuinely test whether the governing majority in parliament still holds Hospodárske noviny ↗. This session also brings in a new topic opened by none other than Taraba: Investment Minister Samuel Migaľ confirmed that he had spoken with him about the possible abolition of his own ministry, MIRRI TERAZ ↗. According to SITA, this is a discussion in the context of public finance consolidation, meaning savings in the state budget, not a finished decision SITA ↗. In the same interview, Taraba also mentioned the Ministry of Tourism and Sport, led by SNS nominee Rudolf Huliak, which according to Taraba costs the state hundreds of millions of euros a year — Migaľ, commenting on the whole debate, said he "does not want to cause any panic" and that for now it is only a political discussion ta3 ↗.

The president has been added to the agenda. On Monday afternoon, Peter Pellegrini asked the National Council to let him address the plenary with a state-of-the-republic report. According to his office, it is to concern next year's state budget and the strategic document Vision Slovakia 2040; he had already announced the address before the summer break. TASR ↗ The exact date is not yet known — the session opens Tuesday afternoon and is scheduled to run for four weeks. Hospodárske noviny ↗

The opposition added two more ministers. The Slovakia movement has launched an attempt to dismiss Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok and Economy Minister Denisa Saková — the reason it cites is their overall style of governing. SITA ↗ In Saková's case, the movement cites the Russian radars and the failure over energy aid. Pravda ↗ Meanwhile, the case surrounding Šutaj Eštok's trip to Abu Dhabi continues — an investigator is to rule on an objection of bias regarding the criminal complaint. Pravda ↗

State money: excise tax, transaction tax, and pricier mortgages

In response to rising fuel prices, the coalition is responding with a promise to negotiate a cut to the excise tax — according to Danko, it is appropriate to start as soon as possible Refresher ↗. Several media outlets quote the same words from Danko that "we need to start doing something about it" Hospodárske noviny ↗. By contrast, the planned abolition of the transaction tax, which until recently was spoken of as a certainty, is according to Prime Minister Fico once again uncertain — he himself wants to reconsider it Nitrak ↗. Parliamentary Speaker Raši commented on this only cautiously, saying that "belief is important" — without indicating which way the decision will ultimately go Markíza ↗. Added to this was news that the European Central Bank has raised interest rates again, which according to analysts will gradually make Slovak mortgages more expensive as well TERAZ ↗. A lower excise tax on fuel would further burden the budget at precisely the moment when another part of the coalition is invoking the need to save so much that abolishing an entire ministry is on the table — the coalition is thus holding two mutually competing budgetary logics side by side.

The prime minister has joined Danko, and the opposition has offered figures. According to the daily SME, both coalition leaders signaled a cut to the excise tax over the weekend; Fico also said he is in communication with Slovnaft about prices. SME ↗ Opposition party SaS announced on Monday that it will support any coalition proposal, and claims it will not burden the budget — it says that once fuel gets cheaper, Slovaks from border regions will stop filling up abroad. SaS chairman Gröhling expects a price cut of 30 cents for petrol and 16 for diesel. TASR ↗ For diesel, however, the excise tax alone is not enough to cover such a sum: the Slovak rate is only 38 euros per thousand liters above the EU minimum, i.e. just under five cents including VAT. We broke this down in a separate article on what part of the fuel price is tax and what part is margin.

Under the radar

President Peter Pellegrini, at the National Pilgrimage in Šaštín, called for unifying society and seeking a common path even where none seems to exist anymore — against the backdrop of sharp coalition disputes, the gesture of reconciliation seemed almost jarring by contrast SITA ↗. Passing largely unnoticed was also the news that the Association of Slovak Construction Entrepreneurs welcomes the forthcoming European bill on affordable housing, which it says should help speed up the construction of housing units TERAZ ↗.

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