Parliament launches debate on Government Manifesto

The Slovak Parliament on Wednesday afternoon launched a debate on the new Government Manifesto. The strongest opposition party Smer-SD made clear that they would not support the Manifesto in parliament, with the Smer leader and former three-times Prime Minister Robert Fico calling it an "unprofessional" document without appropriate financial backing. Paradoxically, voices against the Manifesto appear also among the coalition MPs. Freedom and Solidarity MP and head of the parliamentary health-care committee Jana Cigániková stated on Wednesday that she could not support the Government Manifesto as it intended to create a unitary health insurance company system. "I'm in favour of the plurality of health insurance companies, which means competitiveness among them. They should be competing for insurers by providing better services," explained Cigániková, noting that even though she would not express her support for the Manifesto, she fully supported the Government. If the new government, now in office for a month, does not succeed with anything other than changing the way of how prosecutor-general is elected, it will have nevertheless accomplished its fundamental mission, said Parliamentary Vice-chairman Juraj Šeliga from the coalition For the People party. According to Šeliga, the judiciary is the "showcase" of the Government Manifesto, with its determination to fight against corruption and organised crime, and an "enormous effort" to make the state trustworthy again.