Slovakia’s ruling coalition has reshuffled two ministries—digitalization and tourism—in a bid to ease political turmoil, yet the crisis remains far from settled.
Prime Minister Robert Fico announced Wednesday that his Smer-SD party reached a deal with coalition partners Hlas-SD and SNS to amend their manifesto. The move follows months of instability, triggered by defections from both SNS and Hlas-SD, which left the government teetering on a narrow majority.
Under the new agreement, Smer-SD will take control of the Ministry of Informatisation from Hlas-SD and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports from SNS. Fico stressed that this shift is meant to restore stability and regain a parliamentary majority. However, there’s no guarantee it will resolve the deeper fractures within the coalition.
One of the defectors, Pavel Ľupták, confirmed his faction was offered leadership of the Sports Ministry, a move that could give the coalition a razor-thin 76-seat majority. Yet, according to SME newspaper, Fico has yet to strike a deal with three Hlas-SD rebels, leaving uncertainty hanging over the government’s future.
Meanwhile, opposition leader Michal Šimečka of Progressive Slovakia dismissed the reshuffle as meaningless. “Nothing’s been solved,” he said, accusing the coalition of being paralyzed by infighting. In his view, the only way forward is early elections.
