Slovak businesses that have been forced to close by the government are watching what’s happening in the Czech Republic with a certain amount of envy. There are as yet no plans to reopen stores, restaurants and hotels in Slovakia, just a promise by prime minister Igor Matovič to produce a timetable next week. But with pressure building, cracks are beginning to appear in the government coalition that was created after the last elections. Could the government fall if shops don’t open soon? Richard Sulík, of the Strana Sloboda a Solidarita, took some of the tension out of the situation on Thursday by saying that while he hopes smaller stores not located in shopping centers will be allowed to open as of April 20, he wouldn’t make moves to leave the government if it doesn’t happen. “If the prime minister decides that way, I’ll respect it,” he said. Given that stores would have to know in advance when they could open, it’s hard to see his statement as anything other than an admission that smaller stores will not be opening on Monday.
