Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovič tendered his formal resignation to the country’s president, Zuzana Čaputová, on Tuesday, in an effort to resolve the country’s political crisis triggered by his clandestine efforts to buy Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine.
“It was only one year but I feel like it was ten,” Matovič said in his remarks after resigning. “I ask your forgiveness for all the mistakes I have committed. Don’t worry, all will be well, and you can trust Edo,” he added, referring to Eduard Heger, the former deputy prime minister and minister of finance, who has now been tasked with forming a new government to avoid early elections.
Political infighting erupted in Bratislava about a month ago when a secret deal involving the government’s plan to acquire two million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine—which has not been cleared by the EU yet—came to light. Though Matovič defended the agreement as crucial to speed up inoculations in the country (which is one of the hardest hit in Europe, with the second-highest death rate) the decision to keep other coalition members in the dark about the plan dealt a severe blow to an already splintered bloc, with leaders fiercely demanding the PM’s resignation. The crisis led to six ministers from all four coalition parties, and multiple MPs stepping down as well.
Matovič’s formal decision to quit also comes just a week after Čaputová called for the PM’s departure, citing his administration’s inability to resolve coalition disputes amid a debilitating pandemic. “Having three weeks of fruitless negotiations, all against the backdrop of crowded hospitals, exhausted medics, and people struggling for life, health, and dignity, is dangerous and reckless,” the president said.
The prime minister had previously proposed swapping posts with the finance minister, but the government said on Sunday that he had withdrawn all of his demands, “in order for the coalition to continue”. The conservative ‘For People’ party and the ring-wing populist ‘We Are Family’ party immediately said that they were in favour of the PM’s decision to leave and argued that it was the best way out of the current crisis. Meanwhile, the ‘Freedom and Solidarity’ party—which left the coalition to demand Matovič’s resignation—said that it was ready to rejoin the government, with Heger at the helm.
Slovak PM Igor Matovic, Government Resign Over Russian Vaccine Scandal
Eduard Heger, the former deputy prime minister and minister of finance, has now been tasked with forming a new government to avoid early elections.
March 31, 2021
PM Igor Matovic hands in his Cabinet's resignation to President Zuzana Caputova. SOURCE: REUTERS via DAILY SABAH