Fico: Smer-SD Won't Support Gov't Manifesto

Bratislava, June 12 (TASR) - Smer-SD won't support the Manifesto of the technocratic Government, as it believes that the Manifesto only proves that the current Cabinet has been tasked with "saving the failed governing coalition while helping to bring Progressive Slovakia into spotlight", Smer-SD chair Robert Fico declared on Monday. "The fundamental problem of current Slovakia is the enormous increase in prices. The Government Manifesto addresses Roma, financial support for NGOs, fight against hybrid threats, aid for Ukraine, but the most important thing - the increase of food prices - has received only the single fleeting sentence from the Government, and here I quote: "The Government will consider potential measures to eliminate impacts of the growing prices of foods". In Slovak language that means they'll do nothing. But when it comes to the purchase of arms, the Government plans to spare no expense," claimed Fico. Fico claimed that Smer-SD had asked Prime Minister Ludovit Odor to include in the Manifesto a report on the state of Slovakia after three years of Igor Matovic's and Eduard Heger's governments. "He hasn't done so, and that only proves that his task is to keep the previous misgovernance under wraps and create enough time for the failed government coalition to regroup," said the Smer-SD chair. Earlier on Monday, the Government passed its Manifesto. The next step is to submit to Parliament and ask the House for confidence. mf