Demanding either early elections or a government reshuffle, President Andrej Kiska gave a very strong message and his speech was the strongest of his political career, said political analyst Pavol Baboš. He was surprised by the confrontational tone of Prime Minister Robert Fico's reaction who accused Kiska of having his statement written by somebody abroad, as it will polarize society according to Baboš. "There is not much to read into the speech of the Speaker of the Parliament, Andrej Danko. It has been apparent for the entire week that his party prefers to continue the current coalition. However, we have seen several times in the past that Danko can be unpredictable. Moreover, information-wise, his speech was the weakest one of the three," said Baboš.
An overhaul of the Cabinet or even an early election, or perhaps the preservation of the status quo will depend more on the junior governing party Most-Híd chief Béla Bugár than on President Andrej Kiska's opinions, analyst Michal Horský told TASR on Sunday. Meanwhile, political scientist Grigorij Mesežnikov stated that in his speech Kiska has "indirectly expressed no-confidence in this Cabinet". Another analyst, Ján Baránek, pointed to Kiska's announced plans to discuss the options with the leaders of political parties as a probe into whether it is perhaps possible to set up a caretaker government. Kiska is certainly aware of the maths in Parliament, and while an early election would resolve much, such a solution is not likely at the moment, added Baránek. "When it comes to a caretaker government, there is no such experience or tradition in Slovakia, but it is formally possible. However, any kind of government would need to be supported by parliament. The announcement of early elections would require 90 votes in the 150 seat parliament, which the opposition would not have even with the support of the coalition Most Híd party," said Baboš.
The trigger for this development was the murder of the investigative journalist Ján Kuciak,
who in his final article wrote about the alleged presence of the Italian Mafia in Slovakia and its links to politics. Kuciak also wrote about the alleged business links of Slovak politicians with tax fraud suspect Ladislav Bašternák and controversial businessman Marián Kočner. Kuciak's body and the body of his girlfriend Martina Kušnírová were found shot dead in his house in the village of Veľká Mača, Trnava region.
