Premier Wants to Pay Special Attention to Rental Flats and Hospital Construction

Bratislava, January 1 (TASR) - I will pay special attention this year to rental flats, the construction of hospitals as well as control activities in relation to members of the government and the implementation of the government manifesto, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) stated in his New Year's address, which he published on a social network on Wednesday. The premier promises to continue to pursue foreign affairs policy oriented towards all four cardinal directions in 2025. He also believes that the coalition will stabilise and won't spend energy on dealing with intra-party issues of coalition partners. Fico stated that he's ready for a demanding working year. He compared the functioning of the governing coalition to a football match, in which he sees the defensive. "Smer holds the centre of defence and midfield firmly and steadily, but Voice on the left and SNS [Slovak National Party] on the right don't hold the numbers. If the wings of the defence and midfield don't stabilise by the end of the first half, new tactics will have to be set during the break," he stated. According to him, the coalition must realise that if they fail to win this match, "the opponent will have no regard for anything and anybody and will again use all means to eliminate us completely and never allow us to play another match". Fico is convinced that both Voice-SD and SNS will stabilise in the coalition and won't spend their energy on addressing intra-party issues of their coalition partners. He appreciated the recent statement by SNS chairman Andrej Danko, which he described as "constructive" in relation to the months-long tug-of-war with Voice-SD. According to the prime minister, the government has put public finances in order and has fulfilled several points of the manifesto, including the introduction of full 13th pensions, changes in public procurement and a reduction in VAT on basic foodstuffs. Fico denied that he appears tired although opponents are trying to create an image of a tired and demotivated premier. "I may appear more pessimistic, but that's only because a pessimist is basically just a well-informed optimist," he stressed. am/mcs