In Slovakia, the political crisis is to be cushioned by a new interim government: President Caputova wants to consult experts. The successor to the previous interim prime minister, Heger, is to be Ludovit Odor.
The EU member state Slovakia is in a political crisis. Now President Zuzana Caputova has announced the formation of a government of experts and civil servants. This is headed by financial expert Ludovit Odor. The 46-year-old is currently Deputy Governor of the Slovak National Bank NBS. The ministers have already been selected, but their appointment will not take place until the week beginning May 15 because they want to inform the parliamentary parties beforehand, the President said in Bratislava. Until then, acting Minister President Eduard Heger has a duty to continue his work.
The government would include experts who have no intention of running in the Sept. 30 general election, Caputova said. This should rule out that someone abuses the temporary government function for election campaign purposes.
New elections are planned for September
Interim Prime Minister Heger submitted his resignation for himself and his cabinet to Caputova in the morning. According to him, the reason is that Caputova has not accepted any of his suggestions as to how he could lead the government in the current crisis. The government lost its parliamentary majority in the summer of 2022 and a vote of no confidence in December. Nevertheless, she managed to delay the new elections that were actually planned after the fall of the government until the end of September. She has remained in office since then, early elections in the NATO and EU member states are planned for the end of September.
In the past few days, the political crisis in the country had worsened: Last Thursday, Agriculture Minister Samuel Vlcan resigned because of suspicious millions in subsidies for a company he runs. A day later, Foreign Minister Ratislav Kacer announced his resignation without giving a reason.
support for Ukraine
The conservative-populist government under Heger’s leadership is among the most determined military supporters of neighboring Ukraine, which has been attacked by Russia. Like Heger, Caputova advocates military support for Ukraine. Therefore, for the time being, Slovakia’s foreign policy course is not expected to change.