BRATISLAVA, July 1, (WEBNOVINY) — Slovakia’s largest opposition party SMER-SD is requesting convening a parliamentary session devoted to growing prices and what the government is doing about it. “We want the Cabinet to do what it is supposed to do,” SMER-SD leader Robert Fico told Friday’s news conference. They want the Cabinet to resolutely push for price stability within the EU, elaborate a price policy concept and a report on measures to prevent an unfavorable price development of important goods and services.
According to Fico, the Finance Ministry abandoned its role in price policy and relies just on the market’s self-regulation. The opposition leader opines that owing to this, everything will be more expensive.
Fico blames the government for Slovakia’s inflation being above the EU average and twice the inflation of the Czech Republic. He is also concerned about the structure of the price growth, in particular growing prices of food. He believes that the price growth is the result of measures introduced by the government of Iveta Radicova which laid the burden of its consolidation package on the citizens’ shoulders.
The opposition leader claims that were he the prime minister, he would be more active in a similar situation and for instance negotiate with retail chains. “Why does no one ask about the retail chains’ profit,” he remarked, indicating where he sees space for reduction of food prices. Fico, however, believes that the „incompetent ruling coalition“ is responsible for the inflation pressure, as it devotes attention mainly to its internal conflicts and when it does something, it does it badly. Fico announced that if the party was in power, there would not be such inflation pressure.
SMER-SD asked to include inflation on the agenda of the current parliamentary session, but the coalition majority did not support it. Fico added that another parliamentary session should be devoted to the country’s growing indebtedness. According to him, the country’s debt is growing faster than during the economic crisis.
After submission of a request to convene a parliamentary session signed by thirty deputies, Speaker of Parliament Richard Sulik has to convene the session within seven days.
SITA
