On Wednesday the new Slovak government met for the first time and discussed its priorities. It commissioned Prime Minister Robert Fico to submit a proposal of the new Government Manifesto for discussion in the Cabinet by Wednesday, April 13th.. Points of departure for drawing up a new Government Manifesto will be the programme priorities for 2016-2020, a document that has already been approved during Coalition talks. Ministers are also scheduled to talk with various partners such as professional organisations, unions, interest groups and others in drafting the Manifesto. In line with the Slovak Constitution, a new Government has to submit the final version of Government Manifesto to Parliament and ask for a vote of confidence no later than 30 days after the President has officially appointed it.
Health Care Minister Tomáš Drucker, a nominee of the Smer-SD party, however not a member of the party, has been active since his first days in the new post. His priority is to create a model which would allow for control and audit in the Health Care system. "I want to include the representatives of the opposition and the unions into our system in order to allow its political and practical control," stated Drucker. As the first step he is now looking for a suitable candidate to lead the state-run health insurer Všeobecná Zdravotná Poisťovňa, someone from outside the health care field. For Justice Minister Lucia Žitňanská of the Most-Híd party it is her third time in the post after two shortened terms in 2006 and 2010. During the ceremony, Žitňanská claimed that she's coming in with a clear goal of promoting priorities such as anti-corruption measures, streamlining the judiciary, and the sphere of human rights. "I'm convinced that public control of the judiciary and fundamental systemic measures to streamline the functioning of courts as well as speed up court processes are really the key steps expected of this Government too," she said. Žitňanská emphasised that this time around within the Justice Ministry's portfolio are also human rights. "Especially during these times, I don't want this sphere neglected," she claimed. What needs to be done is to tour across Slovakia and make it abundantly clear to everyone that human rights as we know them today have been guaranteed in the wake of WWII... to make sure some things will never occur again," she said in an obvious allusion to the strong support the far-right Marian Kotleba-People's Party Our Slovakia received in the election.
The new Education Minister Peter Plavčan of the Slovak National Party, who faced criticism for his incompetence right after his appointment, met with the representatives of the Slovak Teachers' Committee, the Slovak Teaches' Initiative and the Science and School Workers' Union. All participants agreed that they will cooperate on the creation of the Government's Manifesto in the area of education. "You can see everyone's commitment. We need to cooperate because we have the chance to change the situation in the school system. It mustn't be wasted," said the new head of the Education Ministry.
