BRATISLAVA, March 16, (WEBNOVINY) — Leaders of five center-right parliamentary opposition parties were unable to agree on how to distribute among them available parliamentary posts on Friday. “Agreement on filling two posts of deputy speakers of parliament has not been achieved,” outgoing Speaker of Parliament Pavol Hrusovsky (KDH) said after the meeting of parliamentary parties on Friday. He said that the parties respect KDH’s claim to one post of deputy speaker of parliament but the other chair still remains open. Both leader of MOST-HID Bela Bugar and Chairman of Ordinary People and Independent Personalities Igor Matovic would like to nominate a candidate to assume the post.
Hrusovsky added that Ordinary People did not inform their opposition colleagues about party’s candidate for the post of a deputy speaker. “All but Ordinary People were willing to present their nominations,” he noted. Hrusovsky did not disclose whether KDH prefers MOST-HID or Ordinary People and underscored that it is [election winner] SMER-SD that deals the cards. “KDH can voice and express its opinion but a single government party, SMER-SD, will be approving on all decisions in parliament,” he emphasized. Both Hrusovsky and KDH Chairman Jan Figel want to hear the name of Ordinary People’s candidate.
SaS Chairman Richard Sulik reiterated on Friday that Matovic’s group should claim the post since the party together with KDH has the strongest opposition caucus in parliament. Nevertheless, he also understands reservations of their opponents. “Matovic has managed to set all deputies against him,” he observed.
Hrusovsky elaborated that the opposition will be in charge of the parliamentary committees for economy, agriculture, foreign affairs, and minorities and also five control committees: for conflict of interest, and those overseeing activities of the intelligence service SIS, two military intelligence services, and the National Security Authority. Other ten committees will be in hands of the ruling SMER-SD party.
Parliamentary opposition parties agreed on Friday on the number of committee members, which will correspond to the weight of parties in the plenum and that parliament’s gremium will consist of eleven members. The option that the absence of deputy-parliamentary-speaker post will be compensated with a chair in the gremium also remains open.
SaS leader Richard Sulik said that the party will claim the chairman post in the Committee for Economy for the outgoing Economy Minister Juraj Miskov. The liberals also desire the vice chairman positioning the Committee for Finance and chairman post in one of the control committees.
Opposition leaders have not yet discussed nominations for the Fiscal Council or who will assume the post of deputy governor of the National bank of Slovakia to be nominated by the opposition. Leaders of five parliamentary opposition parties are to meet again on Tuesday to agree on personnel nominations for parliamentary posts.
SITA