BRATISLAVA, January 22, (WEBNOVINY)- Speaker of Parliament Richard Sulik is expected to explain to SMER-SD lawmakers why he canceled the planned meeting of representatives of deputy clubs with Hungarian President Pal Schmitt who paid a brief visit to Slovakia on Thursday. SMER intends to inquire about the issue at next week’s meeting of deputy club heads, said SMER MP Jan Richter who as the deputy chairman of his party parliamentary caucus was to represent the opposition SMER at the scheduled meeting with the Hungarian head of state. He says he was unpleasantly surprised by Sulik’s decision and feels touched that he learned about the change on the stairs of the historical building of Slovak Parliament when the meeting was to take place. Due to time pressure, only Sulik eventually met with Schmitt.
Richter told SITA that he understands that on such occasions unexpected situations may occur but he insists that Sulik might have shortened his meeting and not completely cancel it or should have announced the decision earlier. Richter thinks that there might be two reasons behind such a sudden change: either coalition chaos which is transferred also to parliament or somebody simply did not like the composition of the parliamentary delegation. “I think you called the thing its right name,” he said when SITA asked him whether the had the SNS leader Jan Slota in his mind who was to represent the SNS deputy club at the meeting.
Head of the SNS club Rafael Rafaj however does not blame the canceled meeting on Sulik. He thinks that it was a strategy fulfilling the wish of the Hungarian President. Hungarians did not want to meet because they feared they might get unpleasant questions difficult to answer, Rafaj told SITA. The Hungarian side thus showed that it is not able to discuss sensitive issues. After the meeting was canceled Slota confirmed that he had several questions prepared for Schmitt. He wanted to ask him whether he feels to be the president of the state or the president of all Hungarians. He also intended to ask Schmitt whether he acknowledges the Trianon Peace Treaty. He also said that he had expected that the Hungarian President came to apologize the Slovak nation for 150-200 years of constraint. He also wanted to ask the Hungarian guest whether he is the president or just a foot-soldier of Fidesz when he signs controversial laws criticized by all European institutions.
According to Sulik’s secretary and head of his office Tatiana Tothova the meeting was canceled due to time pressure. This change took place at the last moment. Tothova insists that the cancellation of the meeting had nothing to do with Slota.
SITA