Yesterday Slovak MPs showed just how much they enjoy their protection from criminal prosecution as they voted down the draft Constitutional amendment to scrap the luxury of MP immunity.
Only 32 of 138 MPs in attendance in parliament took the moral stance to scrap criminal immunity for MPs, judges and other senior public officials, with the rest finding one excuse or another to turn down the motion already in the first reading.
The motion had been submitted by independent MP Igor Matovic and his 3 partners from the Obycajni Ludia faction of the SaS party, the only party really to extend its support for it.
The motion received just 3 MP votes each from the other coalition partners SDKU, Most-Hid and KDH. It is fairly ironic that the rest of the coalition MPs in attendance voted against the bill, because less than six months ago they stood on the other side of the fence.
Hardly surprising is that the motion received no support from Robert Fico’s Smer-SD party or Jan Slota’s nationalist SNS party, although former SNS deputy head Anna Belousovova (now an independent after being thrown out of the party), chipped in her vote, possibly in the knowledge that the bill would not be passed anyway.
A symbolically small victory in this sense came earlier in the week, though, as the motion to strip MPs of their immunity in the case of minor public offences was pushed through to a second reading. It will essentially prevent these ‘public servants’ from speeding, drunk driving or parking wherever they want, for instance. At least in practice, but the bottom line is whether police officers will actually charge them, and if they do, then the fine will diminish into oblivion next to their chunky ‘immunity-free’ salaries.
So what are the yearly running costs ?
Turkeys don’t vote for Christmas so why should politicians in Slovakia vote for prison.But given the fact that the law isn’t working in Slovakia, it wouldn’t make much difference anyway. Flawed, fraud, and if we are to believe the 105 politicians who voted to maintain their immunity – criminal too.
Nice one – The Daily SK .is the best Slovak news presentation by a mile!
Thanks a lot for the praise Alec, we plan to get better and better, but not easy with no financing.
As always in a democratic state farm , some Pigs are always more equal than all the other another animals. I can see the problem, where some nutters like Fico and his party members, would spend hours filing iffy criminal complaints with the police, against opposition MP’s etc , hoping in the publics eyes , mud will stick and there no smoke without fire etc . Who would want to become an MP with all this crap flying about !
I guess that is also why Fico & co are so desperate to get Their Man, in position for another 7 years , as the Public Hatchet man . So Fico’s gang are protected , whilst they have the opposition scared and the legal profession tied up with unfounded court case .
As always, I can see waves of Slovaks , protesting outside Parliament today and for weeks, about this equal injustice …..well not ! Slovaks will just shrug their shoulder, and say this is Slovakia and the way it must be with a silly smile….and some people on this forum wonder why I have such distaine and disgust, for this quite pathetic race of people .