* Coalition splits over attorney general post
* Partners worried about trust in government, meet on Monday
* Cabinet stability seen weakening
(Adds PM Radicova, leaders' comments, details)
By Petra Kovacova
BRATISLAVA, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Cracks appeared in Slovakia's
centre-right coalition government on Thursday, when some of its
deputies sided with the opposition in a vote for a new chief
prosecutor.
The four-party coalition, planning one of the European
Union's most ambitious fiscal consolidation drives next year,
has a slim parliamentary majority, with 79 out of 150 deputies,
and any dissent within its ranks endangers policymaking.
Prime Minister Iveta Radicova reiterated her threat to quit
if the opposition, led by leftist former Prime Minister Robert
Fico, succeeded in electing its own candidate for the post.
But the opposition candidate, incumbent Dobroslav Trnka,
fell two votes short of the absolute majority needed, scoring 74
votes to 73 in the secret ballot.
Radicova said she was sorry about the unsuccessful vote.
"Because of this, I have summoned a coalition meeting for
Monday, before a second round of voting, to debate various
proposals for further action, debated by party leaders today,"
she said in a statement.
Political columnist Marian Lesko of the daily SME said the
situation in the coalition was very fragile. "The election of
the attorney general showed that the stability of the Radicova
government is very weak and endangered. Differences among the
partners are rising," Lesko said.
The chief prosecutor is a key figure in Slovakia where top
politicians routinely accuse each other of corruption. Graft was
a big issue before the general election in June this year.
"What I consider the worst (problem) now, is the lack of
confidence in the coalition," said Pavol Hrusovsky, a senior
official of the conservative Christian Democrats (KDH), part of
the coalition. "I see a solution, to make the vote public."
The four KDH deputies unexpectedly torpedoed a rise in
excise tax on beer on Tuesday, shaking the rickety coalition
which is determined to slash the budget deficit [].
Slovakia joined the euro zone last year and has launched an
ambitious fiscal programme to cut the deficit to 4.9 percent of
gross domestic product (GDP) next year from an anticipated 7.84
percent this year.
It has had no trouble in financing its debt, unlike some
other, richer, peripheral euro zone states.
"This is a serious matter and if some deputies do not
realise that, then perhaps it is not worth continuing with the
coalition," KDH deputy chairwoman Jana Zitnanska told SITA news
agency.
(Writing by Jan Lopatka and Martin Santa; editing by Tim
Pearce)
