Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovic announced on Sunday that he intended to step down after being criticized for handling the health crisis, while saying he wanted to stay in government as finance minister.
The man, whose decision to buy Russian vaccines was highly controversial, did not say when he would step down and said he wanted current Finance Minister Eduard Heger to replace him.
According to an opinion poll on March 21, more than 80% of Slovaks want his resignation.
“
We will exchange our posts with the Minister of Finance, Eduard Heger [...].
He's a good man and we can all trust him,
”Igor Matovic told reporters.
Eduard Heger, 44, is a former businessman and also worked as a consultant for the Ministry of Defense.
He became Minister of Finance in March 2020, when his OLaNO party and that of Mr. Matovic won the general election and he is currently also interim Minister of Health.
Relatively untouched at the onset of the health crisis, Slovakia's healthcare system struggled during the third wave of the virus and the country has one of the highest per capita death rates in the world.