Prime Minister Robert Fico believes that unemployment in Slovakia is about to be reduced very soon. He said so on TV Markiza's talk show 'Na telo' on Sunday. "The Government must be very active when it comes to unemployment. We aren't happy with the current figure [14.71 percent]. I'm glad that the unemployment rate dropped slightly in February [from 14.8 percent in January], and this trend is expected to continue," said Fico adding that as many as 40,000 jobs have ceased to exist since he took power one year ago.
The Prime Minister was reacting to criticism from Pavol Frešo who claimed the Government introduced unhealthy changes to the Labour Code and is hesitant to forward unpopular measures one year before the presidential election. On the occasion of the current government’s one year in office Freedom and Solidarity party leader Richard Sulík stated that after a year of its operation the government delivers coups of grace instead of providing the promised certainties to the citizens. The party’s vice-chairman Jozef Mihál described the Government as a "factory for producing the unemployed", while another vice-chairman Ľubomír Galko pointed out several Government scandals and what he views as overpriced tenders for the delivery of various services and equipment to ministries and state offices.
Lucia Pazičová
