PM Pellegrini not to leave Smer-SD

"I'm not going to resign", said Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini (Smer-SD) after the Cabinet session on Wednesday, rejecting information in the media about his readiness to leave the Smer-SD party. The premier stressed that he would continue to make efforts for Smer-SD to succeed in the upcoming general election and for social democracy to have a prominent place in Slovakia. Pellegrini also ruled out setting strict conditions in the party at this stage of the negotiations, reacting to media claims that he does not want certain figures to appear on the Smer-SD slate, including party chairman Robert Fico and former interior minister Robert Kaliňák. In recent weeks, the media have been repeatedly reporting on tensions in the senior governing party, especially those between the party's chair Robert Fico and PM Peter Pellegrini.