BRATISLAVA, August 5, (WEBNOVINY) — The largest contrast in the ruling coalition, according to the chairman of the Christian-Democratic Movement, Jan Figel, are KDH and the Freedom and Solidarity Party (SaS). As Figel said in an interview with SITA news agency, though the composition of the a coalition is colorful, it has managed to agree on a program and rules. „If we respect the rules and implement the program, it will move Slovakia forward — economically, socially, regionally, and politically, in every aspect. Of course, the ideological rift between us exists and I have publicly mentioned it several times,“ said the Christian Democrats‘ leader. But he pointed out that KDH has already been in liberal or similar dilemmas and disputes in the past. „Pavol Rusko and his party ANO has became a member of the liberal faction in the European Parliament. We have been in a dispute since the beginning of the coalition in 2002-2006. Where’s ANO now? At that time, we defended and succeeded with issues such as the protection of life, marriage and families, the dignity of every human person. Defense of what is natural, legitimate, necessary, and to eliminate what we consider harmful is here and will continue,” said Figel adding that KDH will continue to advocate policies based on traditional values, natural law and common sense.
He did not want to predict the ANO fate for the SaS party. „I am not making any predictions, I am only talking based on the experience of a party, which in the form of dissent and since November 1989 as a political movement, overcame Communism, Meciarism, Nationalism, and Populism. There were and still are temptations for various new -isms. Today, it is, for example, ethical relativism, according to which everything is allowed, everything is equivalent, equally precious, according to usefulness and choice. That does not apply, certainly not for marriage, family, human dignity, personal freedom and responsibility for appropriateness in public finances or consumption. The fact is that one needs not only a Friday but also a Sunday. A lot of what history is teaching is should also today be applied in public life,“ said the KDH chairman.
Today’s challenge according to Figel is ethical relativism. „If it was liberalism as an ideological direction, there are issues where we can work together, and there are others where we are in dispute. Using a serious approach, conservatives and liberals were able to solve economic problems and propose necessary reforms not only in Germany and some European countries, but also elsewhere in the world,“ he said. Whether the SaS are liberals or ethical relativists, Figel did not want to say. „That is more of a question to ask the SaS,“ he said.
The current coalition, according to Figel, is surely better than what Slovakia had before, because the policy of the trio of Robert Fico, Vladimir Meciar, and Jan Slota led Slovakia in a bad and harmful direction. „Whether it was financially or politically, because the level of corruption, the unsustainability of public finances, the projects hugely disadvantageous for citizens, it was a recipe for the Greek way. Stopping this trend, turning it around, that was our responsibility and for this responsibility the present coalition certainly did not and does not have an alternative,“ said Figel. According to him, maybe it is better to argue about secondary matters rather than continue in what was harmful for Slovakia.
SITA