Slovak coalition dismisses opposition leader from the post of deputy speaker

The parties of the Slovak government coalition have dismissed the opposition Progressive Slovakia leader, Michal Šimečka, from the post of deputy speaker of parliament, Aktuality reports.

In a secret ballot, 76 out of 150 MPs supported the proposal to remove him, while three from the coalition’s Hlas (center-left) were against it.

The removal from office was initiated by the pro-Russian coalition party Smer and the right-wing SNS. The coalition claims that it demanded Šimečka’s removal because he allegedly protected his family’s financial interests by organizing protests.

According to members of the two coalition parties, the non-governmental organizations in which Šimečka’s family members work receive subsidies.

Šimečka has already reacted to the decision. He wrote on a social network:

“Mr. Fico, you can fire the deputy speaker of the parliament, but you cannot fire the leader of the opposition. I look forward to defeating you in the elections. Now I have a few more hours a day to do it.“

Opposition parties did not participate in the vote to protest the coalition’s actions. Michal Šimečka on Tuesday morning called the initiative a farce.

At a press conference on the consolidation of the state budget, Prime Minister Robert Fico thanked the coalition MPs for the way they voted. He said he wants to continue the campaign against Šimečka.

“We will ask the SAO to come to the Justice Ministry, but also to the Culture Ministry, to look into whether there was any fraud on the part of Mr Šimečka’s family, whether there was any enrichment of these people,” Fico commented.

Last week, Prime Minister Robert Fico decided to dismiss Michal Simečka, the leader of the largest opposition party, Progressive Slovakia, from the post of deputy speaker of Parliament.

By law, this position belongs to a representative of the opposition. Therefore, by initiating this dismissal, Fico showed that he would not prevent the appointment of another opposition representative as deputy speaker.

This step was the government’s response to the thousands of anti-government protests that have been taking place in Bratislava in recent weeks. In order to compromise these protests, which were caused by controversial government decisions in the cultural sector, Fico is trying to portray them as Šimečka’s protection of the commercial interests of his relatives.

But at the same time, this step by the Slovak authorities becomes a challenge for the opposition. The government has never questioned the right of the opposition to appoint representatives to parliamentary positions that fall within its quota.

Most importantly, if the opposition fails to reach a consensus, Fico will use the deputy speaker bid as a tool to divide the opposition parties in the Slovak parliament.

In late August, a test of public address systems in towns around Banská Bystrica provoked questions when a loudspeaker broadcast a fragment of radio criticism from Prime Minister Robert Fico against the opposition leader.

Fico criticized Šimečka for allegedly initiating protests to protect his family’s financial interests and promised to initiate his removal from the post of deputy speaker of Parliament. 

At the time, Progressive Slovakia responded by saying that Fico and his government were “acting like communists” when they started attacking the family of political rivals.

Fico, who returned to the post of prime minister in October 2023 after promoting pro-Russian views on Ukraine and attacking European liberal values, attacked NGOs for being connected with the opposition.

Šimečka’s grandfather was an anti-communist dissident writer during communist era of Czechoslovakia. A foundation bearing his name manages educational and social programmes in the country. Šimečka’s partner is a dancer running a nonprofit team that has received public grants, Reuters wrote.