Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has regained his lost majority in parliament after several lawmakers returned to his camp, Reuters reported.
In recent months, Fico has lacked a majority due to disputes within the ruling three-party coalition of leftist and nationalist parties, which has hampered the work of his government.
Last month, Fico regained some lawmakers after introducing cabinet changes, giving him a fragile majority in the 150-seat unicameral parliament.
Slovak President Peter Pellegrini today appointed an MP who is not part of any parliamentary group as minister of innovation and development. The appointment, brokered by Fico, will increase the number of parliamentary seats controlled by his coalition to 79 - the same number it won in the 2023 election, Reuters noted.
"I think I can state that in the (next) parliamentary session, which will start next week... (the majority of) 79 should be restored, which means that the coalition government should be able to make decisions and at the same time hold important votes," the Slovak prime minister said after a cabinet meeting.
The disputes within the ruling coalition have coincided with mass public protests against a change in Slovakia's foreign policy that critics say is moving it too close to Moscow, Reuters noted. Fico opposed military aid to Kiev to avoid prolonging the war against Russian forces that invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and entered into a dispute with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the suspension of Russian gas supplies through Ukraine.
Protesters called on Fico to resign, and he defended his policy, saying it aimed to strike a balance while preserving Slovakia's place in the European Union and NATO. Fico accused activists and the liberal, pro-Western opposition of trying to cause unrest and occupy state institutions to paralyze the government.