Slovakia: Government loses no-confidence vote

(Reuters) The Slovakian minority government lost a vote of no confidence in parliament on Thursday. She tried to the last for support – in vain. The motion of no confidence was passed by 78 MPs in the 150-seat parliament.

The leader of the ruling OLANO party, Igor Matovic, had previously offered to resign as finance minister if the opposition party SaS, which left the government in September, would withdraw its motion of no confidence in the government and back its budget plans.

However, after talks, the SaS declined this offer, calling the fall of the government inevitable. «For six months we have witnessed constant chaos and an unacceptable style of government. This government does not deserve our trust,” SaS chairman Richard Sulik said in a statement ahead of the vote. He said the terms of an agreement were unacceptable.

The governing coalition came to power in 2020 but lost its majority in September when the SaS left the government over a dispute with Matovic. Opposition parties, including the liberal SaS, have criticized the government for doing too little to help people cope with soaring energy bills and prices. In addition, Igor Matovic, the founder and leader of the largest governing party, Olano, abuses his office as finance minister for acts of revenge on political opponents.

Slovakia’s minority government narrowly escaped being overthrown by parliament in Bratislava on Tuesday. A slim majority of 77 of the 150 MPs entitled to vote voted on Tuesday to postpone the vote of no confidence planned for that day by two days. It had already become apparent that a majority of parliamentarians wanted to express their distrust in the three-party cabinet of conservative-populist Prime Minister Eduard Heger.