Coalition negotiations are underway in Slovakia after the elections. The results ended with a surprise, the left-wing populist Smer won more than expected, and the voting held other excitements as well. No party achieved the 76 mandates required to form a government, so coalition negotiations could begin immediately.
Most people expected that the winner Fico would be able to form a government after entering into a coalition with the left-wing Hlas and the far-right SNS, but this seems to be failing.
The wild card of the elections was Hlas, led by the former prime minister, Peter Pellegrini, without whom it was impossible to form a government coalition, and its 27 representatives represent an inescapable force. Moreover, despite the fact that they profess left-wing politics, like Smer, according to the news, the relationship between Robert Fico and Peter Pellegrini is not the best. The right-wing liberal parties would also use this opportunity.
The president of Michal Šimečka (Progressive Slovakia) made an extremely generous offer to Hlas, he would cede the prime minister’s seat, and they would share the number of ministries equally.
This is also surprising because while Hlas only has 27 seats, PS will hold 32 seats in the next cycle of the Bratislava parliament. The issue of the leadership of the Ministry of the Interior, which is considered a sensitive area in Slovakia, has not yet been decided.
Hlas has not yet responded, but this offer significantly surpasses the opportunities provided by Smer, they wanted to give the post of speaker of the parliament to the first person of the third-ranked party.
The cover photo shows Michal Šimečka, the leader of Progressive Slovakia, and Peter Pellegrini, the first man of Hlas. Cover image source: Zuzana Gogova/Getty Images
