CORRECTED - Slovak govt partners press for more power -agency

...

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico's two junior ruling partners demanded more power in his governing coalition on Tuesday, calling for his leftist Smer party to give up two key ministries, news agency SITA reported.

The far-right Slovak National Party (SNS) said it wanted to to take over the defence ministry, while the HZDS party of Vladimir Meciar eyed the health ministry, both now led by Smer ministers.

"We want a redistribution of central power. That is a topic for discussion at the next coalition meeting," SITA quoted SNS leader Jan Slota as saying after a meeting with Meciar.

"The ratio is not good."

The date of the next coalition meeting has not been set.

SNS and HZDS officials were not immediately available for comment, but a Smer spokeswoman told SITA there was no reason to change the government make-up.

Slota said the ratio of cabinet portfolios should reflect the number of seats in the parliament, where SNS holds 19 and HZDS 16, giving the coalition a comfortable majority of 85 votes in the 150-seat assembly.

Smer nominees hold 11 cabinet seats, while SNS holds three government posts and the HZDS has two ministries.

The coalition has already faced tensions in the past months over changes to the tax system, the labour code and healthcare.

But analysts and commentators say neither those issues or this latest row threatened to break up the cabinet formed after elections last year.

Political commentator Marian Lesko said the pressure seemed to be part of a game in which SNS and HZDS wanted to create room for negotiation on demands in other areas.

"This is not serious. Although they have presented this request, they don't believe it can succeed," he said.

[BRATISLAVA/Reuters/Finance.cz]