Igor Matovič is not a second-row man. You could have guessed it when he vacated his post as Prime Minister of Slovakia at the end of March 2021. The government, then just a year old, seemed saved. Matovič swapped places with then Finance Minister Eduard Heger, who has led the four-party coalition in Bratislava ever since. But soon there was new trouble.
Even as finance minister, Matovič never missed an opportunity for insults and attacks. The faction of the conservative, economically liberal SaS (Freedom and Solidarity) finally announced that it would leave the government – as long as Matovič stayed in office. Premier Heger would then have to lead a minority government. An ultimatum set by the SaS expired on Wednesday and the party took the next step: its chairman, Economics Minister Richard Sulík, resigned. At the same time, he announced further willingness to negotiate.
The fight for the government appears to be about social packages for families, household relief in the face of rising energy costs and the government’s debt policy. But above all, it is the dispute between two men that causes the Slovakian government to falter in uncertain times. Matovič is wrestling with SaS Minister of Economy Sulík. Matovič himself entered parliament via the SaS list, before his party succeeded in Oľano, which means ordinary people and independent figures. With this he clearly won the parliamentary elections in March 2020, but was dependent on coalition partners.
Ex-Prime Minister Fico leads in polls. He drifted to the right
Despite all the skepticism about Matovič’s populist course, the election marked a political turning point. The coalition partners had defeated their longtime opponent, ex-Prime Minister Robert Fico. Fico is considered the head of a far-reaching corruption network that reached into offices, ministries, courts and the police. Even the clues in the case of the murdered journalist Ján Kuciak lead to Fico.
Fico can now triumph. The vocal opposition leader has drifted far to the right since the change of government with his nominally social-democratic Smer-SD. He won new votes as the top corona denier, Russia friend and USA hater. In recent polls, his party is in second place on the popularity scale with almost 15 percent. Former Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini broke away from Ficos Smer-SD after the 2020 election and is leading the polls with his Hlas party, which mixes social democratic with national-populist elements.
So if the government collapses and new elections ultimately have to be called, there is nothing less to fear than the return of the old, corrupt elites. Judging by their statements, neither Matovič nor Sulík want that. Still, Matovič had no problem getting a social package for families through parliament with the votes of the far-right L’SNS in the spring. The SaS did not vote for it, they did not think the program was targeted enough.
She has to mediate again: Slovakian President Zuzana Čaputová, here on her way to an earlier mediation meeting with the head of government.
(Photo: Jaroslav Novak/dpa)
SaS chairman Sulík, however, met Robert Fico a week ago to talk about energy policy issues – which brought him a lot of criticism and recently also from party colleagues and Foreign Minister Ivan Korčok was judged to be a “mistake”..
On Wednesday afternoon, President Zuzana Čaputová received Prime Minister Eduard Heger and the Speaker of Parliament at her official residence in Bratislava. It is not the first time that Čaputová has had to mediate in a government dispute. In a speech after the meeting, she called on the government to “end the period of mutual accusations by Monday”. It is not acceptable that the government has only been dealing with itself for two months. The people in the country perceive the situation as “free fall and chaos”. “That’s not how you govern,” said Čaputová.
Igor Matovič has now presented a ten-point plan from his vacation spot in Spain, which the SaS should agree to, including higher child benefit payments and financial relief for pensioners. SaS boss Sulík let it be known that one could talk about it – but only if Matovič resigned.