(Bloomberg) -- Slovakia's opposition is preparing a parliamentary vote of no-confidence against the government that will test the ruling coalition's unity as calls for its resignation mount.
Premier Robert Fico is facing calls from the opposition and the president to quit or fire allies from the cabinet after the murder of a reporter sparked mass protests across the European Union nation of 5.4 million. One party in the three-way alliance has also criticized the premier for the way he handled the situation. The coalition now relies on 78 lawmakers in the 150-seat assembly.
Fico has sought to position himself as a core EU ally in eastern Europe as Poland and Hungary have clashed with the bloc. This week, he joined the ranks of other regional populists by saying that efforts to topple his government were orchestrated from abroad and publicly linked billionaire philanthropist George Soros to a plan to destabilize Slovakia. That also spurred more criticism from the opposition.
“The prime minister of an EU country is starting to spin conspiracy theories instead of listening to the voice of the people,” Igor Matovic, the leader of the second-largest opposition party OLANO, told reporters on Wednesday. Opposition parties will now start collecting signatures from 30 lawmakers that are needed to trigger the no-confidence vote.
Read more on how the murder of a reporter may be linked to Italian mafia
The vote's outcome will largely depend on the junior coalition party Most-Hid, which has urged the premier to fire his ally Interior Minister Robert Kalinak. Fico has so far refused to make personnel changes.
“Most-Hid party has said something and it wants something,” Fico told reporters on Wednesday. “We will offer solutions so that Most can continue in the government.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Radoslav Tomek in Vienna at rtomek@bloomberg.net, Peter Laca in Prague at placa@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrea Dudik at adudik@bloomberg.net, Andrew Langley
©2018 Bloomberg L.P.
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
