Slovak President Andrej Kiska asked MPs for a matter-of-fact and accommodating discussion on the possibility of cancelling the controversial amnesties issued by erstwhile Prime Minister Vladimir Mečiar when he was an acting president in 1998, according to TASR press agency. They concern those involved in the kidnapping of the son of late President Michal Kováč in 1995. The Parliament will deal with the proposal to scrap Mečiar's amnesties at its upcoming session. Opposition MP Jan Budaj (OĽaNO-NOVA) came up with a respective proposal. Since it is a constitutional law, Budaj would need the support of at least 90 out of the 150 lawmakers in Parliament. The Opposition would thus have to unite with the governing coalition.
The now non-parliamentary Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) has sought the abolition of Mečiar's amnesties for years. It had support from the Opposition, but it lacked support from the governing Smer-SD party for its proposal. Premier and Smer -SD party leader Robert Fico has stated that the amnesties are amoral, but that they can't be scrapped legally. However, Smer-SD is willing to support their moral condemnation through a declaration.
