Government of Slovakia

With coalition-wide negotiations ongoing, Heger called on his political partners to "not succumb to anger" and "built a culture of respect" between each other. "I am convinced that the key to change is not banging our fists on the table… but showing each other respect and decisiveness," he wrote on social media.

Still, describing Heger's cabinet as "new" is arguably a step too far. Heger from the OLaNO (Ordinary People and Independent Personalities) movement merely swapped seats with party leader Matovic, and five of the six ministers who resigned during the crisis have since returned to their posts, with the only new face at the health department.

No government in Slovak history has faced challenges like those confronting the new administration led by Matovic and his anti-establishment OLANO party. Along with the deadly virus, it has the contagion of decades of corruption to content with.

Shortly after the verdict, former Prime Minister Robert Fico leapt to Mazurek's defence in a Facebook video.

"Milan Mazurek only said what nearly a whole nation thinks," said Fico, leader of the governing SMER-SD party. "If you execute someone for truth, you will turn him into a national hero. Should we be afraid to say that part of the Roma people abuse the social system?"

The most serious candidate is the head of Slovak diplomacy Miroslav Lajcak.
This is written by today's "Vecernje Novosti", which state that the EU's goal is to first and foremost mitigate US influence in the region.

For many Slovaks, the texts are a reminder of the sheer depth of corruption in a country still reeling from the shooting of 27-year-old Kuciak and his fiancée in Bratislava in February 2018.

They see the texts as proof that Kocner, who was already in custody when he was charged with ordering Kuciak's murder, thought he was above the law, though he denies any wrongdoing.

Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu (C) talks to Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva (L), and Slovakian Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak during an European Foreign Affairs Ministers meeting at the European Council headquarters in Brussels on Jan. 21. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Slovakia's new government has won a confidence vote in parliament amid the political crisis sparked by the slayings of an investigative journalist and his fiancee, reported ABC News. 

An European Parliament (EP) delegation headed by former Slovak FM Eduard Kukan will visit Serbia on September 22-24.

A meeting of the EU-Serbia inter-parliamentary committee will also be held then, Tanjug reported late on Tuesday.

Slovak president Andrej Kiska appointed Robert Fico as prime minister on March 23 after Fico's leftist Smer party won the largest share of the vote in a March 5 election and formed a four-party coalition.