Opposition Warns Government's Growth Measures Could Saddle Future Generations with Debt

Opposition politician Štefan Kišš, shadow finance minister for Progressive Slovakia (PS), has criticized the government's proposed growth measures as a "blank check" that will burden future generations with massive debt. Kišš argues that changes to public-private partnership (PPP) project rules will allow the government to contract companies for enormous projects without having any prepared plans. He warned that Prime Minister Robert Fico's construction projects, which historically experience cost overruns, will require decades of payments by Slovakia's descendants. According to Kišš, Slovakia is growing slower than its neighbors and only thanks to European Union funding. Progressive Slovakia is a liberal opposition party that has positioned itself as a pro-European alternative to the current ruling coalition led by Fico's Smer-SD party, which has governed Slovakia multiple times since 2006.