RATISLAVA, October 11, (WEBNOVINY) — Increasing the capacity of the EFSF is in contradiction with the government’s program statement, the coalition treaty, as well as common sense, and massively damages Slovakia, stated Speaker of Parliament and leader of the Freedom and Solidarity Party (SaS) party Richard Sulik in the debate on the most important issue of the twenty-fourth parliamentary session on increasing the guarantees in the eurozone’s bailout fund, the EFSF. He restated that his party cannot support increasing the guarantees. “I know that we are being non-conformist and I am not happy about it,” he said, adding that he would rather be a freak now than feel ashamed before his children later.
Sulik criticized the decision of Prime Minister Iveta Radicova to join the vote on the bailout fund with a vote of confidence in the government. “Our government is probably a world rarity, when she decided to connect these votes,” he said. Sulik considers it to be blackmail, while he was surprised by Radicova’s decision. According to him, Slovakia is “on the road to economic serfdom”. As an alternative, Sulik proposes not to approve boosting of the bailout fund.
The SaS leader stressed that the party does not oppose the bailout fund as such, but it objects to disrespecting rules. He reminded that last year, the SaS voted for establishing the permanent bailout fund that was to be used to save countries, not banks, for just three years. “The temporary bailout fund is a story of lost time, nothing was achieved over fifteen months,” he noted.
Chairman of the ruling coalition member MOST-HID Bela Bugar reacted by saying that this vote is on solidarity, which the SaS has in its name. According to him, the SaS put its party’s interests ahead of Slovakia’s interests.
SITA