Slovak Health Minister Zuzana Dolinková resigns

Slovak Health Minister Zuzana Dolinková has resigned. She steps down after 11 months in charge of the troubled Health Ministry. In her Friday press conference, she criticised this week's budget consolidation measures, the government's failure to prioritise healthcare, and the spread of disinformation through the government's plenipotentiary.

Minister Zuzana Dolinková found herself in a challenging position, dealing with criticism from her coalition partners while facing a no-confidence vote triggered by the opposition.

On Thursday, the parliament approved the proposed budget consolidation measures, which will impact healthcare workers' salaries. The current parliamentary session was concluded after the vote, with all unresolved matters pushed to the next assembly.

The awaited no-confidence vote was also adjourned to the next session, allowing Dolinková to live to fight another day.

On Friday, the Ministry's press office announced that Dolinková's press conference would centre around the consolidation measures, with her resignation announcement not being made public in advance. "I am not leaving because of any scandal but because of my personal conviction," she said.

The Fico IV government is now poised for its first cabinet reshuffle since assuming power almost a year ago.

Consolidation package 

"With the current setting and the approval of the consolidation package, I, as the Minister, cannot guarantee that our health is moving in the right direction," she said regarding Thursday's approved measures.

"I consider this consolidation of public finances unacceptable and untenable for Slovak healthcare," she continued.

The measures include a €259 million cut from the sector, originally intended to fund healthcare workers' salary increases.

Dolinková emphasised that the reduction has violated the agreement between the government and medical unions regarding salary increases.

As of Thursday, in opposition to the measures, the medical unions collected nearly three thousand signatures from doctors and hospitals nationwide, refusing to work forced overtime and on-call hours beyond the legal limits. The signatures are used as a bargaining chip and are yet to be officially filed.

Dolinková also acknowledged the actions of doctors, nurses, and paramedics, who are threatening to resign from overtime work due to the reduction in salary growth.

"I cannot guarantee that, after the approval of this package, all the priorities that are crucial to me as a Minister will be fulfilled, priorities that I believe are essential for improving healthcare in Slovakia," she added.

Lack of support

Dolinková was losing support among her coalition partners, with the SNS (NI) leader, Andrej Danko, leading the charge.

In September, PM Fico (Smer-SD) publicly weakened the Minister, stating she needed to present cost-cutting measures and a realistic plan for healthcare. "If the Minister of Health cannot handle it, someone else must take over," he said at the time.

On Friday, Dolinková hit back, "I am sorry that the Health Ministry is not among the government's priorities and lacks strong support from both the government and this coalition."

"I do not feel political support for advancing my goals, vision, and the development of Slovak healthcare," she continued.

Dolinková added that healthcare lacks financial and, above all, political support and cannot fulfil the objectives set by the government in its declared manifesto.

Speaking out on disinformation

Dolinková's tenure was undermined and negatively impacted by MP Peter Kotlár, the government plenipotentiary for reviewing and investigating pandemic management.

Kotlár pushed for Slovakia's disassociation from the International Health Regulations revision and helped spread disinformation about vaccines and the pandemic.

On Wednesday, he presented the findings of his investigation, urging a halt to mRNA vaccinations, opposing Slovakia's signing of the proposed WHO pandemic treaty, and characterising COVID-19 as a lab-made virus.

"How is it possible that, on the one hand, the Minister has to tidy up a decade of unresolved issues in the health sector within 11 months, while on the other hand, they must deal with questions about whether or not there is a pandemic, whether vaccines alter our DNA, or if we are being microchipped?" she responded to Kotlár's disinformation openly for the first time on Friday.

Dolinková added that she "listened and was cooperative" during Kotlár's investigation into the pandemic but that his ideas have no basis in science.

The reaction

"The Prime Minister Robert Fico thanks the Minister for the work she has done and will not comment on the reasons the Minister cited as decisive in her decision," the government's office noted in response.

"The Minister absolutely did not fight for her sector," said Branislav Gröhling, the leader of the opposition Freedom and Solidarity (ECR).

KDH (EPP) views Dolinková's resignation as a logical step, while Progressive Slovakia (Renew) recognises that although her departure was inevitable, her resignation will not resolve the crisis in the healthcare sector.

"We perceive Minister Dolinková's resignation as a political move aimed at the public. At the same time, she has confirmed that the consolidation at the expense of healthcare personnel jeopardises the functionality of the healthcare system," the Medical Trade Union Association wrote in a statement.

What is next

On Tuesday, Dolinková will deliver her resignation letter to President Pellegrini, who still needs to accept her departure.

She did not indicate whether she would return to parliament. She is entitled to the parliamentary mandate she claimed in the 2023 parliamentary elections. 

The preliminary shortlist of Dolinková's successor includes the current Education Minister, Tomáš Drucker, who previously led the Ministry but did not seem interested in switching his jersey.

Other names on the list include St. Michael Hospital director Ladislav Kužela and Miriam Lapuníková, the director of F.D. Roosevelt University Hospital in Banská Bystrica, where PM Fico was treated after the assassination attempt.

According to Sme, the frontrunner is currently Kamil Šaško, the First State Secretary at the Ministry of Economy.

The Health Ministry, a revolving door

With Dolinková's 11-month tenure, the average health minister's longevity drops to 19 months in office.

"If we look at the numbers since the 2020 elections, the average is only 276 days. In other words, since 2020, we have had a new minister every nine months," health analyst Martin Smatana wrote in response to the Minister's announcement.

The Supreme Audit Office also pointed to personnel instability at the Ministry in their report. During the audited period of 2018–2023, the Ministry experienced nine different ministers, and the organisational structure was significantly altered 36 times.

[Edited by Vasiliki Angouridi, Brian Maguire]