Prime Minister of Slovakia and leader of the center-right Ordinary People and Independent Individuals party, Igor Matovic, said he was ready to step down in order to resolve sharp differences in the government over the purchase of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine prior to EU approval.
“Our coalition partners used the first shipment of vaccines to unleash a coalition crisis. First they demanded that the head of the Ministry of Health leave, then me. I am ready to leave the government and act as an ordinary member in it”, – Matovic said.
The prime minister also announced the conditions for his resignation, which must be fulfilled by the liberal party “Freedom and Solidarity” and the liberal-conservative party “For People”, which are seeking his removal from office, which are part of the Cabinet.
“I consider it absolutely necessary to remove [the Freedom and Solidarity Chairman, Minister of Economy of Slovakia] Richard Sulik from the government”, – Matovic emphasized.
The purchase of the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine at the initiative of the Prime Minister of Slovakia led to serious political divisions within the country, but Matovic said he would not return the drug back. The republic’s hospitals are overcrowded, and the number of new patients with coronavirus and deaths from it is one of the largest in the world in terms of a million inhabitants.