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Opposition: We Want to Offer Alternative to Current Government
Tuesday 15 December 2009 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, December 15 (TASR) - The Opposition right-wing parties are not content with the current situation in Slovakia, said SDKU-DS Chairman Mikulas Dzurinda after a joint meeting of the seven Opposition parties SDKU-DS, KDH, ethnic-Hungarian SMK and Most-Hid, OKS, SaS and the Green Party on Tuesday.
Dzurinda said that the Opposition parties share a same goal: bring Slovakia back to a path, where values are upheld and politicians don't steal but serve the people. Hence, the Opposition parties plan to work together to offer a viable alternative to the Robert Fico-led Government.
According to Dzurinda, the co-operation should lay in three main spheres. "We need to unify our party programmes, clearly distinguish ourselves from the Government and give thought to arranging our relations in such a manner that the votes of democratically-thinking people (in 2010 Parliamentary Election) are not wasted," said Dzurinda, alluding to the fact that votes cast for parties that don't reach the 5-percent threshold are not counted.
When asked what these right-wing parties have in common, Dzurinda replied that they share a common aim of getting Slovakia back on track. "There are concerns regarding the current moral devastation and the increasingly socialist system. In this we stand unified," claimed Dzurinda.
As for the concerns of Christian Democrats (KDH) and ethnic-Hungarian SMK that a second Slovak Democratic Coalition (SDK) might emerge from the right-wing bloc, Dzurinda said that no such scenario exists. "I'm sure that nobody is afraid of me exerting some political pressure or playing political games that might lead to the formation of something resembling SDK (Slovak Democratic Coalition, which formed the main party in the 1998-2002 coalition) ... All I care about is responsibility," said Dzurinda. He added that there is no time for political egoism or personal disputes, and emphasised that he is willing to do his utmost to prevent the votes of smaller right-wing parties from becoming wasted.
Dzurinda also admitted that he has changed his opinion about Most-Hid party, which he earlier called "the fifth column of (governing) Smer-SD" in the past. "I think that we are nearly on the same wavelength. We should work together after the parliamentary elections and not with the current Coalition," Dzurinda said.
According to KDH Chairman Jan Figel, the Opposition parties are able to bring a broader scope to the discussions on their own than as a unified entity – a process which might not be readable to the electorate over such a short period of time (less than six months until the Parliamentary elections in June 2010). Figel thinks that the co-operation and dialogue are necessary, however, he refuses to bring back the SDK format. It's the same old story, he said: "You can't step into the same river twice," recalling some of the inherent weaknesses of the 1998-2002 coalition headed by SDK that was purpose-built for the election.
Ethnic-Hungarian SMK harbours no ambitions to support any updated national unity front. "If we can formulate our aims, we also need to find means to ensure that the votes of our voters won't be wasted," said SMK Parliamentary Caucus chairman Gyula Bardos, deputising for absent party chairman Pal Csaky, who was attending a meeting in Budapest.
SaS (Freedom and Solidarity) Chairman Richard Sulik said that future co-operation of SaS with any political party will be possible only if other parties unequivocally distance themselves from Smer-SD.
Like, OKS (Civic Conservative Party) is also willing to sign a pre-election agreement. "We are open to co-operation with all Opposition parties; and not open to the Coalition parties," said OKS chairman Peter Zajac.
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