Slovakia’s ruling coalition lost its majority in parliament after a key party abandoned the alliance, raising the prospect of a snap election in the European Union member state.
(Bloomberg) — Slovakia’s ruling coalition lost its majority in parliament after a key party abandoned the alliance, raising the prospect of a snap election in the European Union member state.
The move will now force Prime Minister Eduard Heger to seek ad-hoc support to approve laws if he wants to keep his post. Failure could trigger an election in the nation of 5.4 million citizens as it faces its gravest crisis in decades.
Heger’s coalition partner, the fiscally conservative Freedom and Solidarity party, left the government after its demand for the resignation of Finance Minister Igor Matovic were ignored. Matovic, Heger’s predecessor as premier, led the ruling Ordinary People party to victory in 2020 on a platform of fighting corruption.
Turmoil within the ruling coalition has been building since June, when Matovic pushed through a 1.2 billion-euro ($1.2 billion) subsidy package for families with the help of opposition far-right lawmakers.
The remaining three coalition parties now control 70 votes in the 150-seat parliament. A new election isn’t the favored option for either of the bickering parties, who have seen their popularity decline amid the infighting.
The turmoil has buoyed the opposition parties of Robert Fico and Peter Pellegrini, two former premiers who were ousted from power in 2020.
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