The novel by Rudolf Huliak brought a surprise.
The amendment on gambling, submitted by the Minister of Sports and Tourism Rudolf Huliak, became a stumbling block in the parliament. According to Andrej Danek, Huliak lacks diplomacy and pulled out a “chainsaw” in the parliament with the proposal.
The government commissioner for the investigation of the pandemic and coalition MP Peter Kotlár even asked to withdraw the proposal completely. This idea was also supported by the opposition, which even praised Kotlar with a big round of applause right in the plenary.
Robert Fico demonstrated a new level with Huliak:
Deputies were at work until one in the morning
Deputies discussed the gambling amendment until one in the morning yesterday. The coalition shortened the debate to 12 hours. However, MPs of Smer, Hlas and SNS did not participate too much in the parliamentary debate, and the debate was mostly led by the opposition.
During the discussion, the Minister of Sports and Tourism Rudolf Huliak, who presented the proposal, also sat in the plenary.
He proposes that the state Tipos take over the expiring casinos whose license expires and then their license would be automatically extended. Even local governments should no longer prohibit the scope of gambling.
Kotlár joined the opposition
Already yesterday, the coalition came with information that they did not have a consensus to support the proposal. This was also confirmed by the chairman of the SNS Andrej Danko and the deputy speaker of the parliament Tibor Gašpar (Smer). Today, shortly before the vote on the proposal in the first reading, Peter Kotlár unexpectedly came up with a procedural proposal. The plenum demanded that she completely withdraw the amendment.
“There is not a voter in the electorate of any political party who agrees with this point,” he explained his demand. The words of the coalition deputy met with support from the opposition, which even applauded him. Gradually, they began to support the proposal verbally and voted for the deputy’s proposal.
However, Kotlár still did not have enough votes with the opposition. His SNS club abstained from voting. This was also done by some Smer MPs, for example Jana Vaľová, Peter Žiga, Tibor Gašpar, or Richard Raši or Zdenko Svoboda from Hlas. The majority of the Smer and Hlas party was against withdrawing Huliak’s gambling changes.
Despite information about disunity in the coalition, the gambling amendment itself passed in the first reading. 77 deputies voted for it. The debate will therefore continue in the second and third reading to finally approve the amendment. During the second reading, deputies can change the proposal by means of amendments.
Danko: Hooliak pulled out a chainsaw
The coalition parliamentary clubs will sit on the amendment today. According to Andrej Danek, they should agree on what their final verdict will be. He added that nobody wants gambling and that it is a necessary evil, but according to him, Rudolf Huliak pulled out a “chainsaw.”
The chairman of the SNS has the opposite opinion on the competences of municipalities as Rudolf Huliak. “Municipalities have the right to stop gambling on their territory,” commented Danko. According to him, Kotlár’s actions were not bad.
The opposition refuses to agree with Kotlar on the procedural proposal in advance. It was said to be a surprise for them too. After the vote, all opposition parties praised him.
“It was such a nice surprise,” said KDH chairman Milan Majerský, adding that the plenipotentiary took the right stance. The only one who got common sense commented on Igor Matovič’s Slovensko Movement and the Freedom and Solidarity party.
MPs across the opposition agree that changes in gambling from the workshop of Minister Huliak are harmful.
