Even though it's important that the coalition crisis should fade away as soon as possible, the president might have her reservations towards some nominations for new ministers, taking into account public trust in state institutions, political scientist Aneta Vilagi of Comenius University in Bratislava opined on Tuesday, adding that if Zuzana Caputova decides to negotiate on this, the talks will be very brief.
In Vilagi's opinion, the resignation of Prime Minister Igor Matovič (OLaNO) may be considered the end of the coalition crisis, but it won't put an end to the disputes within the coalition. "At first glance, it might seem that the demands of Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) have been meet (albeit modified somewhat), and that the party has emerged victorious from the crisis. However, it would be very myopic to arrive at this conclusion," said Vilagi, remarking that the crisis hasn't been an boon for any of the coalition parties.
In the long-term perspective, or from the point of view of the next general election, the crisis has and will continue to hurt OLaNO, SaS and For the People. "Only We Are Family will be able to benefit from it by presenting itself as the party that distanced itself from the crisis," said Vilagi. According to her, the reconstruction of the Government, which will now be led by Eduard Heger, is similar to the one seen in 2018, when Peter Pellegrini replaced Robert Fico as premier.
When asked whether the newly-formed Cabinet has a chance of remaining coherent when the two main actors of the coalition crisis - SaS chair Richard Sulík and Igor Matovič - will both be part of it, the expert couldn't provide a clear answer. "Rationally thinking, I can imagine this happening. From the political point of view, it makes sense that both of the coalition leaders should endeavour to keep the Government going as long as possible, but despite this I wouldn't dare predict it, as unpredictability is a big factor when it comes to this governing coalition," she answered.
