Fights within the coalition continue with no result

Another episode of the long-lasting dispute between the Prime Minister and Economy Minister took place during Wednesday's meeting of the cabinet. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Igor Matovič (OĽaNO) lambasted Economy Minister Richard Sulík (Freedom and Solidarity) for allegedly bending the truth and lying about his own statements from the Government's session. The statements in question were connected to Sulík's agreement with countrywide testing on Monday's meeting, a stance that Sulík negated in the media later. According to PM Matovič, things "can't go on like this" and thus he disclosed the recording from the meeting, where Sulík agrees with the testing. Richard Sulík on Wednesday admitted a misunderstanding had taken place, as he had only consented to the testing for COVID-19 in the most critical regions and not the mass nationwide testing. Sulík apologized for the misunderstanding. On Thursday, the coalition Freedom and Solidarity party stated that it stands behind its chair Richard Sulík and will remain in the coalition. PM Matovič has been criticizing Sulík for weeks, blaming him for the failed purchase of antigen tests and overall inactivity in the pandemic management, but he has not removed him from the position yet.