Igor Matovich
Prime Minister of Slovakia Igor Matovic expressed his readiness to leave his post due to the situation with the supply of the Russian vaccine against the Sputnik V coronavirus to the country. This is reported by TASS with reference to local media.
The leader of the center-right Ordinary People and Independent Individuals (OLLN) party, on whose initiative the Russian drug was purchased, said that he was ready to leave the post of head of the Cabinet, but at the same time intends to continue working in the government as one of its members. At the same time, Matovic has put forward a number of demands for the parties in the government coalition that are seeking his resignation. He demanded that the Minister of Economy of Slovakia, Richard Sulik, who is the chairman of the liberal party “Freedom and Solidarity” (CC), be removed from the government, as well as the strengthening of the position of the All-Union League in the Cabinet.
Earlier it was reported that Sulik wanted to dismiss the prime minister because of the supply of “Sputnik V” to the country. Thus, two of the four parties of the Slovak government coalition demanded Matovic's resignation. In addition to the CC, we are talking about representatives of the liberal-conservative party “For People”. The parties believe that Matovic has failed to cope with the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the country and divides society.
On March 12, the head of the Ministry of Health of Slovakia, Marek Krajci, was removed from office because of his position on Sputnik V. Matovic explained that the country's government was close to collapse.
The delivery of the Russian vaccine has led to serious political divisions within Slovakia. Foreign Minister Ivan Korchok condemned the Prime Minister, who personally met the first batch at the airport. President of the country Zuzana Chaputova also spoke out against the use of the Sputnik V vaccine. On March 6, Matovic announced that he would not return the drug back.
