Michelko: Coalition Has Secured Support of 76 MPs in Parliament

Bratislava, February 27 (TASR) - The government coalition has probably secured the support of 76 MPs in the 150-seat House, with a certain agreement already in place with the group of four MPs around independent MP Rudolf Huliak [former members of SNS caucus], while talks are continuing with the MPs around Samuel Migal [former members of the Voice-SD party], TASR has learnt from MP Roman Michelko (Slovak National Party/SNS). "Some type of agreement is probably in place with Huliak, and talks are ongoing with Migal's group," Michelko told TASR. He assumes that coalition representatives want to resolve the situation definitively before the next regular parliamentary session, which is scheduled to begin on March 25. Michelko also noted that the parties involved won't communicate about the status of the negotiations until a final agreement is reached. According to him, the decision as to who will be the new head of the Tourism and Sport Ministry and the Investments Minister is now in the hands of Smer-SD. "They now control those ministries. They communicate, specifically the premier, so if he wants to, he will inform [us]," he added. Last week, the governing parties Smer-SD, Voice-SD and SNS agreed to amend the coalition agreement. The distribution of government posts has changed, with Smer-SD now taking control of the Investments Ministry and the Tourism and Sport Ministry. Smer-SD will attempt to use the new distribution to stabilise the governing coalition and regain a majority in Parliament. lin/df