Slovak president appoints new "non-party" government after months of crisis

13 May 2023 16:10

As a result of the country's prolonged political crisis, Slovakia's President Zuzana Čaputová has appointed a government of experts, not politicians, to run the country.

After having to stand by and watch one minister after another argue and have their conflicting personalities stall political action in Slovakia for months, President Zuzana Čaputová has decided to take the task of stabilising the country into her own hands, Euronews reports.

On May 12, Čaputová announced her appointees for an entirely new caretaker government, consisting solely of experts in their respective fields and without any ministers coming from the political parties.

Taking a cue from her own decision to abandon her career in civil society to become president, she urged the Slovak public to remain open-minded and to appreciate the massive sacrifice the new appointees in the caretaker mandate were making by abandoning their non-political positions to enter the government.

"I know very well how difficult such a decision is and how deeply it interferes with personal life. The people who go for it have my gratitude and respect. Let's give them a chance, let's not judge and condemn them in advance on the basis of purposeful lies that will certainly will be discovered," the president said on Friday.

The caretaker government that was in power since December fell apart last week when caretaker Prime Minister Eduard Heger also offered his resignation.

In his place, Čaputová – Slovakia’s first female president, who boasts high support among Western allies – selected an expert government, headed by Ľudovít Ódor, who had until then served as vice-governor of the National Bank of Slovakia.

For the first time ever, Slovakia will have a government cabinet made up entirely of experts – or technocrats – with no party affiliation. This “government of experts” is set to begin their mandate on 15 May.

Caliber.Az

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