Slovakian Prime Minister Resigns Over Scandal Over Purchasing Russia's Sputnik V Vaccine
On March 30, Slovakian Prime Minister Igor Matovic officially resigned to defuse the political crisis following a scandal over a deal to purchase Russia's Sputnik V vaccine.
It is the first European government to collapse over its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the prime minister's resignation will keep the current coalition in power and avoid the possibility of early elections.
President Zuzana Caputova accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Igor Matovic and asked Finance Minister Eduard Heger to form a new government; the four parties in the ruling coalition agreed to support and join the new cabinet with Mr. Heger.
Speaking to the media, Mr. Heger expressed his gratitude to former Prime Minister Matovic for what he had done in the past and called his resignation “an unprecedented act of goodwill in Slovak politics.” Mr. Heger, 44, had served as Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in the government. Previously, Mr. Matovic said he would resign and was expected to take up the position of Finance Minister in the new government.
When the Covid-19 crisis hit the country in early March, Prime Minister Matovic pushed through a deal that saw the country agree to buy 2 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine despite disagreements within the alliance. Since the Covid-19 crisis began, six ministers have left the cabinet.
Slovakia has been struggling through the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and the country has one of the highest per capita death rates from the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the world./.
