Fico Leads Slovak Environment Ministry After Taraba's Dismissal

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico visited the Ministry of Environment in Bratislava on Thursday, a post he has been temporarily tasked with leading since Wednesday after President Peter Pellegrini dismissed Tomáš Taraba following a parliamentary no-confidence vote.¹⁴⁵

Months of friction

The change follows a dispute between coalition partner SNS and Taraba that lasted several months. SNS had been calling for the removal of Marek Chovan, the ministry's secretary general, since May.²¹³⁴

Fico submitted a proposal to dismiss Taraba to the president in mid-September, acting at SNS's request. Parliament then voted no confidence in Taraba on September 29, with support from the opposition and SNS. President Pellegrini recalled Taraba on September 30, according to Info.sk.²¹⁵³

Withdrawal and coalition tension

Fico withdrew his dismissal proposal, citing the development of the situation and risks to the parliamentary majority. SNS considers this withdrawal a breach of the coalition agreement, a claim the party has made according to multiple accounts.¹⁵³⁴

SNS has designated state secretary Filip Kuffa as its sole candidate for the minister post. Kuffa said he expects to become minister within two weeks. He pointed out that SNS had originally pressed for Chovan's resignation as far back as May. and that by around July it was instead urging the minister to remove him.⁴¹³

Coalition talks ahead

President Pellegrini has not yet received a new ministerial nomination from Fico. He said in late August that any replacement must meet a higher standard, stating, "if there is to be a replacement, it must be a better nomination."¹⁵²

Smer-SD said it is ready to resolve the ministry's leadership in cooperation with SNS, declaring it is "prepared to resolve personnel assignment of environment ministry head in cooperation with coalition SNS." SNS has not yet voted against the government in parliament.⁵¹⁴

A coalition council is scheduled for Friday at 15:00 to discuss the state budget, according to Topky.sk/TASR. The Office of the Government stated that negotiations between Fico and SNS chairman Andrej Danko would also address personnel decisions at the environment ministry, though this detail is reported by a single source.³