It is a process that is still underway, the Slovak National Party leader Andrej Danko said in response to a question about how MPs for his party would proceed in the motion of no-confidence in Labour Minister Jan Richter on Thursday. Ahead of the vote, he met with his coalition partners.
"I will tell you the party's position as soon as I hear all the opinions," Danko told journalists adding that: "this is all about the further development of Slovakia and about borders that the Slovak National Party cannot go beyond within the coalition's coexistence".
Prior to the session, Fico told MPs representing the Slovak National Party that the no-confidence motion in the Labour Minister would also be a vote on whether the Government would fall, the caucus' head Tibor Bernaťák confirmed for the TASR press agency on the same day.
Labour Minister Ján Richter was facing a no-confidence vote for the second time this year, again over the scandal involving the Clean Day resocialisation centre, which allegedly featured the sexual abuse of minors. Opposition MP Erika Jurinová:
"The Labour Minister and his people have put in a lot of extra work to turn public opinion on the Clean day centre and the things that were happening there."
In addition, the Opposition this time accused Richter of non-transparent and corrupt behaviour, gambling with people's trust and the suspicion that he has been ignoring complaints about violations of human rights. The Slovak National Party had reservations about his performance in this post, too. Its nominee Gabriela Matečná, who is the Agriculture Minister, indicated that the party's Cabinet members would not support the Government position of supporting Ján Richter. "We've agreed to refrain from voting," Matecna said before the beginning of the Cabinet session.
"I don't see any reason why we should be involved in this dirt that will be dished on the minister," said Fico during the parliamentary session on Thursday, going on to defend Richter as the most successful labour minister in Slovakia ever while pointing mainly to the falling unemployment rate.
Government members and MPs for his party Smer-SD thus did not take part in the vote. Robert Fico earlier criticised the Opposition for misusing its constitutional right to initiate the no-confidence motion in a Government minister for its own political purposes.
One of the reasons why the Opposition wanted to oust Richter is his alleged "non-transparent and corrupt" behaviour. However, according to the Government, accusations against Richter are not supported by relevant arguments. There are misleading or untrue facts cited in several places, as well as statements that contradict provable data, claims the Cabinet.
