PS Urges President Pellegrini to Take Action in his Criticism of Gov't

Bratislava, October 7 (TASR) - Opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) called on President Peter Pellegrini to take action and not just employ verbal criticism of the Government, PS chair Michal Simecka declared at a press conference on Monday. PS believes that the head of state should pursue a restructuring of the cabinet, veto the consolidation package of bills and address statements of Government Proxy for Investigation into COVID-19 Pandemic Management Peter Kotlar. "For us and for me it holds that if the President as the head of state makes a speech, it can't be just empty talk but there should be some political consequences because the President is held accountable for the proper functioning of constitutional bodies at the very least," said Simecka, who asked Pellegrini to replace Culture Minister Martina Simkovicova (SNS nominee) and Culture Minister Boris Susko (Smer-SD). In the case of the Culture Minister, it is necessary in Simecka's view for Pellegrini to speak unequivocally. "The flagship institutions of culture, such as the Slovak National Theatre, the Slovak National Gallery, Slovak National Museum don't have properly-elected directors and they're headed by people without any expertise," warned PS vice-chair Zora Jaurova, who reiterated that Simkovicova should have been invited to resign a long time ago. PS criticises Justice Minister Susko for sponsoring changes to the Penal Code, the scrapping of the Special Prosecutor's Office and his decision to release convicted ex-special prosecutor Dusan Kovacik from jail. In Simecka's opinion, the President enjoys fully legitimate tools to address the issue of Government Proxy Kotlar. "He can say that he won't appoint new health minister until the government ousts the Government Proxy for Investigation into COVID-19 Pandemic Management first," he claimed, adding that the head of state can also stand up for the people by vetoing consolidation bills. mf/mcs