BRATISLAVA, May 15, (WEBNOVINY) – Political analyst Jan Baranek opines that the ruling coalition will survive Tuesday’s election of a new prosecutor general. He further told SITA news agency that the government will remain in power until the end of the election term, even if Prime Minister Iveta Radicova (SDKU-DS) resigns. He thinks that if buying of deputy votes in connection with the last year’s vote of prosecutor general was organized by someone within the coalition, the government will survive. If it was organized by someone from the opposition, the government will not survive, as the deputies will want to complete the deal, Baranek explained. “If this government falls, there will not be early elections, but a new coalition without the SDKU-DS will be formed,” Baranek said.
According to political scientist Michal Horsky, leaders of the ruling coalition realize that without Radicova, it would be difficult to remain in power. Therefore, he thinks that the incumbent government will remain in power in the near future. He prognosticates a real government crisis to break out in the fall.
Political scientist Grigorij Meseznikov estimates that no one will be elected in Tuesday’s secret election of the new prosecutor general, as the vote will be obstructed. The coalition’s candidate will be elected after the change of the vote from a secret to public will be implemented. He opines that coalition politicians should think about why they keep putting Radicova in situations when she has to use ultimatums. “She is not using ultimatums to achieve her own goals, but she is trying to avoid undesired impacts of what coalition parties are doing. The coalition parties should stop doing that,” he added.
In the last secret ballot to elect the new prosecutor general, the opposition candidate Dobroslav Trnka, whose term in office ended in February was a mere one vote short of being reelected to the post. The coalition feared that Trnka might be reelected as prosecutor general and thus its MPs took photos of their ballots and published them to prove they did not vote for Trnka but for Centes. The Constitutional Court however ruled that such behavior thwarted the secret ballot and infringed rights of one of the candidates, Dobroslav Trnka and ordered to repeat the secret ballot. It is to be held on May 17. Meanwhile, the coalition voted to pass a bill to change the parliamentary standing order enabling a public vote on the new prosecutor general. However, the president has vetoed the bill, which is now back in parliament.
Prime Minister Iveta Radicova has recently restated her ultimatum that if former Prosecutor General Dobroslav Trnka is elected, she will resign from her post.
Jozef Centes, candidate of the coalition, gave up his candidacy for the office of the prosecutor general after doubts have risen after the last secret vote. “I took back my consent with the candidacy…, as suspicions on possible corrupt behavior and possible blackmail have risen regarding the secret vote. These are subject to a criminal investigation. As this information has repeatedly shown in the media, under these circumstances I did not want to take part in them,” explained the prosecutor.
SITA