Slovak PM Fico Says He Is Ready for Snap Elections in January

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Sunday, 27 September, that he is ready to call snap parliamentary elections as soon as January if coalition partners Andrej Danko and Tomáš Taraba fail to resolve a dispute over the environment minister's post, while announcing plans to withdraw a motion to recall Taraba.²³

Coalition dispute over Taraba

SNS had demanded the removal of Environment Minister Tomáš Taraba, according to Bloomberg, a move that helped trigger the coalition crisis. Fico said dismissing Taraba could cost the coalition its parliamentary majority.¹⁶

Ukrainian National News reported that carrying out the proposed personnel changes could leave the coalition holding just 75 of the 76 seats required for a majority, framing the standoff as rooted in Taraba's increasing political independence and a contest for control over ministries.⁷

Andrej Danko, SNS chairman, held a press conference demanding Taraba's dismissal and threatened to vote for his removal in parliament together with the opposition if Fico refused. Danko said, "Ak raz chcem nášho ministra odvolať, tak to urobím s kýmkoľvek," and added, "Čudujem sa predsedovi vlády, že to nechal tak dlho bez riešenia."³

Fico's ultimatum

Speaking to TA3 on Sunday, Fico stated, "Ak sa Andrej Danko s Tomášom Tarabom nespamätajú, Slovensko môže mať už v januári predčasné parlamentné voľby," adding to his coalition partners, "Ja som na rozdiel od vás na január pripravený." He continued, "Zabudnite na mňa, že ja vás tu budem riešiť."³

Fico said he intends to meet President Peter Pellegrini on Monday to request withdrawal of the recall proposal against Taraba. A motion to recall Taraba was subsequently withdrawn, according to SITA.²¹⁰

Taraba welcomed the withdrawal, saying, "Späťvzatie návrhu na moje odvolanie vítam a je dôkazom, že nikdy neboli a nie sú žiadne vecné dôvody či pochybenia na moje odvolanie," and added that he was "pripravený konštruktívne spolupracovať s celou vládnou koalíciou." He also said he had never sought positions for himself and invited Danko to pursue "konštruktívnej diskusie" instead of confrontation.¹⁰

SNS pushes back

SNS said it does not want snap elections and that the decision rests with Smer-SD, according to Hospodárske noviny and Pravda. The party demanded adherence to existing agreements, with a spokesperson quoted saying, "Musia dať garancie."⁴⁵

SNS denied being the originator of the current coalition tension and rejected being labelled the political force pushing for early elections, according to Hospodárske noviny and Pravda.⁴⁵

Danko dismissed Fico's comments as "lies and demagoguery" and told Postoj that any move toward snap elections is his call, not one made collectively by SNS.³⁹

Wider remarks

During the TA3 interview, Fico also said Slovakia should maintain military neutrality, that electricity and gas prices would not rise next year, and that targeted energy assistance prepared by Minister Denisa Saková this year had failed, according to Postoj. These statements are reported by a single source.³

Fico described the current coalition as the most complicated he has led and said Smer is internally stable and prepared to go into opposition if necessary, adding that Smer would be willing to cooperate with Republika, according to Postoj. Reuters reported separately that Fico had for months tried to quell infighting within SNS.³⁸