Health Minister Dolinkova submits resignation

Health Minister Zuzana Dolinkova (Hlas-SD) on Tuesday handed her resignation to President Peter Pellegrini, she herself confirmed following her meeting with the President at the Presidential Palace, adding, however, that Pellegrini has not accepted the resignation yet.

The President asked Dolinkova to fully exercise her mandate until her resignation is accepted.  "I'm still the health minister. Even though I've handed over my resignation, it hasn't been accepted yet," said Dolinkova, confirming that her resignation should be accepted when her successor is known.

According to the President, Dolinkova's main focus should now be on mitigating the effects of the consolidation of public finances on the health-care sector.

According to Dolinkova, it is up to Hlas leader Matus Sutaj Estok and his agreement with Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) and Pellegrini to choose the new health minister. Dolinkova remarked in this regard that she hopes that her replacement will enjoy the necessary support, in particular from the Finance Ministry.

Opposition parties SaS, PS and 'Slovakia' parties took potshots at the President over his decision not to accept the resignation from Health Minister.

"I view Tuesday's decision by the President not to oust minister Dolinkova and wait instead for the name of her replacement as a wrong decision. The minister should have been long gone. This only works to prolong the agony, in which the Slovak health sector finds itself," claimed MP Tomas Szalay (SaS) at a press conference.

Szalay believes that Dolinkova will not make any game-changing decisions at this point. "In addition, it's utterly clear that she has support neither from the sector nor health personnel," he said and called on Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) to propose the name of a replacement minister at his earliest convenience, ideally by Wednesday (October 9). Furthermore, SaS reiterated its call on Pellegrini to veto the consolidation bill. "We disagree with the consolidation at the expense of the health sector.“

Source: TASR