The coalition collapses

The Christian Democratic party announced on late Monday evening that it is leaving the coalition, and thus also the government. Their main reason for doing do is that SDKU chairman and Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda rejected its request to submit and approve the Vatican treaty at Government level. According to the SDKU chairman Dzurinda, the text of the treaty as submitted allows the Catholic Church to interfere in decision-making in labour relations and in the legal sphere. The Christian Democrats have set an ultimatum. Either the government approves the treaty, or they will leave the coalition. The SDKU responded to this by describing the treaty as unacceptable.

The Christian Democratic party will not be a part of a government led by a person who is not trustworthy, said the parliamentary chairman and KDH leader Pavol Hrusovsky. Hrusovsky announced that he is stepping down as Parliamentary Chairman. The three Christian Democrat ministers have decided to resign from their posts. Vladimir Palko will resign from the post of Interior Minister, Martin Fronc will step down as Education Minister, and Daniel Lipsic will leave his post as Justice Minister. On Tuesday President Ivan Gasparovic delayed accepting the resignation of the three ministers.

The loss of the Christian Democrats from the coalition means that the Government will now have only 53 MPs in the 150-seat Parliament, while the Opposition now has 74 MPs. Another 23 MPs are independents. According to many politicians, the Government doesn't have much chance of seeing out the current electoral term. The Hungarian coalition party, a member of the coalition, is still cautious about voicing their standpoint. The Christian Democrat party has announced that it is joining the Opposition, and is ready to support a no-confidence motion in Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda. Possible dates for an early election are already being considered.