Finance Ministry State Secretary Vazil Hudák will most probably become the new economy minister, taking over the post from Finance Minister Peter Kažimír, who's been heading the Economy Ministry on an interim basis following the resignation of Pavol Pavlis more than a month ago, the news website tvnoviny.sk reported on Tuesday. According to tvnoviny.sk, only certain formal matters remain to be dealt with before Hudák can be appointed as economy minister. Hudák has been viewed as top favourite for the post for a long time, but he was also considering a lucrative offer from abroad, which he eventually turned down, however. "Life brings situations in which one has to decide. This decision was about something that would be better for me - in financial terms and so on - and something that would be good for Slovakia", said Hudák for tvnoviny.sk. Hudák believes that he might be appointed by President Andrej Kiska within ten days.
When TASR approached Hudak on Tuesday, he already had economic priorities in mind, citing an improvement in Slovakia's business environment and the conclusion of talks with potential investors. "As it's a short period until the [next parliamentary] election [set for March 2016], the priorities will depend on what's of key importance for Slovakia and the Economy Ministry", said Hudák. One important issue is energy - and especially talks with Italian company Enel on boosting the state's stake in Slovenské elektrárne (by purchasing Enel's shares) and the setting of an energy mix for Slovakia, he said. Nevertheless, Hudák said that it will be ultimately up to Prime Minister Robert Fico and then President Andrej Kiska as to whether he'll be appointed economy minister or not. "I really see the odds like this - fifty-fifty", said Hudák, adding that he was also considering offers from abroad. "I'm not a typical public servant, I came from the private sector, and I actually want to go back there. There have been some offers, but you have to consider a call from the state versus one from a private company", said Hudák, adding that the state is more important.
