SaS Lawmaker Says Party Must Compete with Far-Right by Acknowledging Some of Their Points

Jana Bittó Cigániková, a member of parliament from the liberal Freedom and Solidarity party (SaS), has found herself in conflict with her party's new leadership over what she describes as censorship of press conferences, particularly those concerning church issues. The lawmaker argued that SaS must compete with the far-right Republic party by acknowledging that Prime Minister Robert Fico and Republic's Milan Mazurek are "right about some things." Bittó Cigániková indicated she would follow former party leader Richard Sulík if he decides to run with a different political formation, and expressed a more positive view of Boris Kollár, the parliamentary speaker, than she held during their previous coalition government. SaS is a liberal party that was part of Slovakia's previous center-right coalition government but is now in opposition following the 2023 elections that returned Fico's Smer-SD party to power. The Republic party, led by Mazurek, is known for its nationalist and anti-immigration positions and has gained support in recent years.