Slovak opposition withdraws no-confidence motion against Fico’s government

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) - Opposition parties in Slovakia’s parliament withdrew a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government Tuesday, vowing to launch a new attempt soon, local media reported.

Deputy Speaker of Parliament Peter Ziga announced that the session ended without a vote after the opposition withdrew the motion, according to the state-run TASR news agency.

Commenting on the decision, Michael Simecka, leader of the Progressive Slovakia (PS) party, said the move came after the government bloc pushed for the session to be held behind closed doors, which he said would “prevent lawmakers from expressing their opinions and citizens from learning the truth.”

Simecka noted that the opposition bloc plans to make another attempt at a no-confidence motion soon.

Fico accused the opposition of trying to destabilize the country with the help of foreign powers to force the government into calling early elections. He said this was substantiated by intelligence reports from the Slovak Information Service (SIS).

He warned that security forces would take action if opposition rallies violated related laws.

In response, the PS accused Fico and the SIS of “spreading paranoia.”

“This cannot distract from the fact that the coalition government is falling apart and must come to an end,” Simecka added.