BRATISLAVA, January 19, (WEBNOVINY) — The opposition party SMER-SD has introduced its shadow cabinet on Wednesday, led by former Prime Minister Robert Fico (SMER-SD). The party leadership approved the shadow cabinet and introduced it to the media. Fico said that the shadow cabinet will monitor the work of the current cabinet and come up with alternative solutions. He said that the shadow cabinet might also have sessions outside Bratislava. “Real life brings topics for the opposition shadow cabinet. Needless price hikes, amendment to the Labor Code, halted highway construction,” Fico specified the issues his shadow cabinet will deal with. The opposition cabinet will hold its first session as soon as today.
It will have two deputy prime ministers; Peter Kazimir who will supervise social and economic issues and Olga Nachtmanova for human rights and minorities.
In the previous election term, Kazimir was State Secretary at the Finance Ministry and as of the autumn he been the party’s deputy chairman. Nachtmanova is a former Member of Parliament.
Other cabinet posts went to people who held them in the previous election term. Ex-minister Jan Pociatek will lead the shadow finance ministry while Jaroslav Baska remains defense minister also in the opposition cabinet. Robert Kalinak remains interior minister. LS-HZDS nominee who led the agriculture department in the previous cabinet of Robert Fico, Stanislav Becik, will be the minister of agriculture also in the shadow cabinet formed by the strongest opposition party. The minister of social affairs in the shadow cabinet will be former head of Vseobecna Zdravotna Poistovna Zuzana Zvolenska. The minister of justice will be MP and lawyer Robert Madej. The agenda of education will be supervised by former deputy prime minister for human rights Dusan Caplovic. The health issues will be supervised by ex-health minister Richard Rasi. The shadow transport minister is former minister Lubomir Vazny. Lubomir Jahnatek with be the shadow economy minister, Marek Madaric will be shadow culture minister. Shadow foreign minister is Olga Algayerova who was the state secretary of the Foreign Affairs Ministry in the previous election term. The minister for program cooperation and strategies is Vladimir Faic. The post of environment minister remains vacant, as SMER-SD stand by its decision to scrap this department while Becik will monitor problems in this area.
SITA