Only 47 of the 125 MPs present for the no-confidence vote against PM Prime Minister Igor Matovič supported the opposition's proposal to oust the PM over alleged plagiarism concerning his diploma thesis, as well as regarding his performance as Prime Minister. The vote came after a debate lasting some 15 hours. Over 30 orators took the floor, including the Prime Minister himself, Deputy Speakers of Parliament, cabinet Ministers. The coalition defended Matovič and criticised the opposition. Meanwhile, the opposition pointed to several reasons why it believes that Matovič should not continue as Prime Minister, such as his failure to keep his promises and divergence from the Government Manifesto.
Matovič obtained his Master's degree at the Faculty of Management of Comenius University in Bratislava. The University (UK) on its website published a statement saying that the diploma thesis of the PM does not meet the required academic standards and could never be successfully defended today just as it should not have been defended 22 years ago. Both the University management and chair of the Academic Senate are distancing themselves from a statement by UK's Faculty of Management Dean Michal Greguš, who told the Denník N daily that he does not consider Matovič's thesis to be a case of plagiarism. In Greguš's view, the Prime Minister only failed to mark citations properly, which Greguš attributes to a slovenly approach and youthful folly.
"The fact that a student is busy or successful in another sphere can in no way serve as a reason to violate the basic principles of academic work. The statements by the dean contain a number of factual impossibilities, with some claims bordering on the line of academic ethics," reads the UK's statement.
