Simecka: You Can Remove Me as House Vice-chair, But Not as Opposition Leader

Bratislava, September 17 (TASR) - In reaction to his removal as House vice-chair on Tuesday, opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) chairman Michal Simecka sent a message to Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) stating that he could dismiss him as House vice-chair, but not remove him as the opposition leader. Simecka wants to defeat Fico in an election. "I'm looking forward to defeating you in an election. Now I have a couple of hours per day more time for that," said the PS chairman. At the same time, he pointed to problems that the government isn't addressing. "So they've ousted me. All the problems of Slovakia have been resolved by that. Food prices will go down, teachers and nurses will have higher salaries, our children will stop running off abroad, you'll be able to get to Kosice by motorway, and even the water from the cellars will pump itself out," he said. "I congratulate Robert Fico - it took him more than 30 years in prime ministerial and MP posts, but he's finally found the holy grail, how to rule for the people of Slovakia," added Simecka. Simecka was dismissed from the House vice-chair post with 76 votes from the 77 MPs present for the vote earlier on Tuesday. Opposition MPs said in advance that they wouldn't take part in the vote. A proposal to dismiss Simecka was filed by MPs for Smer-SD and the Slovak National Party (SNS). The main stated reasons for the move was the use of state subsidies by people close to the PS chief and suspicions of manipulation in the allocation of subsidies. Coalition representatives also accused Simecka of organising protests against the leadership of the Culture and Justice Ministries, from which, they alleged, Simecka's family is losing its financial backing. Simecka rejected the criticism, viewing the proposal as revenge for carrying out his opposition job well. ko/df