Slovakia's coalition govt falls after losing no-confidence vote

The coalition government in Slovakia has collapsed after losing a no-confidence vote in Parliament called by the opposition following months of political crisis. 78 of parliament's 150 MPs voted in favour of the no-confidence motion. The minority government of Prime Minister Eduard Heger was formed from a coalition of three parties in the Central European country. President Zuzana Caputova will have to appoint a new Prime Minister. The vote was called by a former coalition partner, the Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party, which quit the government in September over disagreements with Igor Matovic, the leader of the strongest party in the alliance. The political tensions since SaS’s exit from government prevented support for Heger’s 2023 budget plan, which includes spending to offset energy prices. Several opposition and coalition parties have however indicated they would prefer an early election. A two-thirds parliamentary majority would be needed to hold such an election. Experts opined that , holding early polls could have an impact on the small European Union and NATO member’s support for war-torn neighbouring, Ukraine, especially if it brings to power the leftist opposition, which is critical of military support for Kyiv as well as EU sanctions against Russia.

 “It will be very difficult to find a new functioning government,” analyst Samuel Abraham told the TA3 news television. “This crisis will continue.” The government made fighting corruption a key policy issue. Since it took power after the 2020 general election, a number of senior officials, police officers, judges, prosecutors, politicians and businesspeople have been charged with corruption and other crimes. The current Slovak government has been donating arms to the Ukrainian armed forces while opening its border to refugees fleeing the war with Russia. Some current opposition leaders oppose military support for Ukraine and European Union sanctions against Russia.