President Zuzana Čaputová accepted Economy Minister Richard Sulík's (Freedom and Solidarity/SaS) resignation on Tuesday morning. Sulík stepped down after Prime Minister Igor Matovič (OLaNO) announced on Sunday his willingness to resign and serve as a member of the Government if Sulik resigns too. The PM also conditioned his resignation on those of Justice Minister Mária Kolíková and Parliamentary Vice-chair Juraj Šeliga (both For the People) from office, as well as the resignation of parliamentary health committee chair Jana Bitto Cigániková (SaS). Transport Minister Andrej Doležal, who is also the acting Labour Minister, will temporarily lead the Economy Ministry as well.
The government of Igor Matovič has been embroiled in a crisis over the circumstances surrounding the purchase of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine earlier in the month, although tensions within the coalition go back much earlier. They have been fed by disputes between Prime Minister Igor Matovič and Freedom and Solidarity party leader and now former Economy Minister Richard Sulík.
