Premier: Regular Parliamentary Session to Start on February 4

Bratislava, January 22 (TASR) - The regular session of the House will start on February 4, according to the schedule, and its priority will be the approval of laws from the Health Ministry and the construction law, Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) has stated. The following session is expected to take place in March, when a large package of various laws will be discussed. According to Fico, there are no conflicts within the ruling coalition, even though each party is different. He stated that Smer-SD party is "solid as a rock" and its MPs guarantee stability. The remaining coalition parties Slovak National Party (SNS) and Voice-SD set up their candidate list in a specific way and now they're paying the price for it, he noted. "I thought some MPs who are now in Voice-SD had learnt more from me. I told them not to put people on the list that they don't know. These candidates might bring in 2,000 votes, but in three months, they'll realise they're geniuses and leave. You need loyal people who are ideologically connected to the values of the party they represent," said the premier. Fico also responded to the opposition's initiative to reconvene a special session to vote on the no-confidence motion in the government. He announced that this attempt is doomed to fail, because, according to him, the parliament won't be able to reach a quorum. He guaranteed that MPs from the Smer-SD party won't attend this session and believes that a consensus will be reached within the entire coalition on this matter. According to Fico, the opposition had the opportunity to discuss the issue during the special session on Tuesday (January 21). lin/mcs