Slovak President Zuzana Caputova pushed on Friday for early elections after dismissing the government after it lost a no-confidence vote, deepening instability amid an energy crisis and war in neighbouring Ukraine.
Caputova asked Prime Minister Eduard Heger and his cabinet to stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new government can be formed, but she said early elections were a better option.
"It is apparent from reactions of political leaders after yesterday's parliamentary decision that there is no will to form a new government ... with parliamentary support," she said in a televised ceremony in her office.
"Therefore I want to ask you and other political leaders to take all the steps necessary so that steps leading to an early parliamentary election are taken by the end of January at the latest," she told Heger.
The central European country is facing weeks or months of talks on a viable ruling coalition just as lawmakers must agree a 2023 budget by the end of the month to include steps to help households and firms struggling with high electricity bills.
Without approval, Slovakia will start the year with a provisional budget that limits government spending powers.
Heger said approving the budget was the main priority.
"This is what we will devote attention to in the coming days, so people can have a quiet Christmas and enter the energy crisis with all the aid prepared from January 1, 2023," he told a televised briefing.
The ruling coalition, with factions ranging from liberals to Christian conservatives, took power in 2020 but lost its majority in September when the libertarian SaS party quit after its leader, Richard Sulik, repeatedly clashed with Igor Matovic, head of the main ruling OLANO party.
Opposition parties, including SaS, toppled Heger's government, criticising it for chaotic rule and not doing more to help people hurt by soaring energy prices.
Holding an election before the scheduled date in early 2024 needs wide support in parliament, which could be tricky with many of the parties down in the polls.
An early election could affect Slovakia's support for Ukraine, particularly if it brings to power the leftist opposition, which currently leads opinion polls and is critical of military aid to Kyiv.
Boris Kollar, leader of junior ruling party We Are Family, said he would back an early election and a constitutional provision to enable it could be adopted next week.
He said failure to approve the change would open the door for Caputova to appoint a new government of her choice, which she hinted at earlier by saying she would take "constitutional steps" if parliament did not act by the end of next month.
(Reporting by Jason Hovet and Jan Lopatka in Prague; editing by Nick Macfie and Mark Heinrich)
