BRATISLAVA, August 4, (WEBNOVINY) – Opposition party SMER-SD will support government proposals responding to the impact of the global economic crisis, the chairman of the SMER-SD and former PM Robert Fico confirmed during the debate on the government program statement in parliament. „We need to act together against the consequences of the global crisis. We offer a helping hand here,“ he said.
Fico emphasized that he will not assist in the criminalization of opposition, sale of state assets, and reduction of social standards. The government program does not contain solutions to the consequences of the crisis and steps to improve the quality of life. Fico strongly rejected the subversion of Slovak public finances, as it is presented by the new coalition. „This is not true. Otherwise, Slovakia would have been dependent on loans from international institutions. Stop the excuses. Do not blacken Slovakia,“ Fico stated. He asked the Prime Minister Iveta Radicova what tools she plans to use to reduce the budget deficit. Fico also regrets that the new government resigned on large public investments, such as building a broad-gauge railway or highway.
Fico considers the government program unreliable and without specific and measurable commitments; it goes against the pre-election promises of the coalition parties. He challenged the Cabinet to admit publicly the ambition to privatize state-owned enterprises, such as the Bratislava airport or railway company Cargo. Fico considers privatization, deregulation, liberalization, and reduction of social standards as the only changes of the new Cabinet.
SITA