The leaders of the three parties forming the governing coalition met with Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini on Tuesday morning to discuss contentious questions that have been causing tension within the coalition and have led to talk of an early general election. They had a rich menu in front of them, including a proposal by the Slovak National Party (SNS) to lower the income tax, which has displeased the Finance Ministry. Then the issue of the election of candidates for Constitutional Court judges that is ongoing in Parliament, but on which the coalition parties have so far not come to an agreement. Whether the voting will take place by secret ballot or will be public also remains to be seen. And last but not least, the proposed Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) with the USA, which is strongly opposed by the Slovak National Party although the agreement has not yet even been drafted. This stance prompted Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini, from the Smer party, to talk last week about the possibility of calling early elections. The meeting on Tuesday ended, however, with Pellegrini ruling out early elections for now and saying talks on divergent issues will continue.
"I think the Slovak National Party really wants early elections, at least according to their latest statements against the Prime Minister, which have stirred the conflict rather than calming it down", said political analyst Ján Baránek for the daily Pravda. President Andrej Kiska, whose mandate ends in June, expects the situation to be resolved in the coming days. "If there was a governance failure in terms of Cabinet operations, I as President would also say that an early election would be beneficial. Whether or not that happens, however, is up to the governing coalition," stated Kiska. Regular parliamentary elections should take place next spring.
