Former prime minister elected as caucus leader

Former Prime Minister Robert Fico and still chairman of the main governing party Smer-SD was unanimously elected leader of its parliamentary caucus at a meeting in Častá - Papiernička (Bratislava region) on Tuesday. Fico has replaced Martin Glváč, who has retained his post of parliamentary vice-chairman, however. At the same time, Glváč has become a vice-chairman of the caucus, along with Miroslav Číž and Tibor Glenda. Meanwhile, Dušan Jarjabek has lost his caucus vice-chairman post. "I mainly expect better political coordination of how the party and the ministerial and parliamentary caucuses work. You most probably will witness regular meetings of MPs, Cabinet ministers and state secretaries. This brings many good ideas," said Fico. "For example, a minister might come up with a legislative proposal, but it might not entirely match the party's vision. That's why we offer help and support to Cabinet ministers, in order to see laws become more left-leaning and socially-democratic," said Fico. "I want us to become more leftist and to see more active appearances of our MPs. You won't [only] be witnessing three or four Opposition press conferences [daily]; you'll be getting quality information from us," added Fico.