Vote of confidence underway in Slovak Parliament

Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini (Smer-SD) asked MPs to give their support to his leadership and the newly reshuffled Cabinet during a vote of confidence for his government on Friday. At the time of writing, no vote had yet been cast, but Pellegrini is expected to narrowly scrape through with the votes needed to secure his government. His government's Cabinet Manifesto remains similar to that of the previous one; being focused on economic growth with a pro-EU orientation. The reshuffled government also features some new names in key positions. Richard Raši (Smer-SD) becomes the new vice-premier for investments and informatisation, Tomáš Drucker (a Smer-SD nominee) the interior minister, Andrea Kalavská (a Smer-SD nominee) the health minister, Ľubica Laššáková (Smer-SD) the culture minister and Gábor Gál (Most-Hid) the justice minister.