Slovakia’s new govt wins mandatory confidence vote

The new Slovakian government formed after a secret deal to buy Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine triggered a political crisis won a mandatory confidence vote in Parliament on Tuesday. Lawmakers voted 89-55 to endorse the four-party coalition government led by Prime Minister Eduard Heger.

President Zuzana Caputova appointed the new Cabinet on April 1 after the government of populist Prime Minister Igor Matovic resigned, becoming the first European government to collapse due to its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Matovic orchestrated a deal to acquire 2 million doses of the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine despite disagreement among his coalition partners. The secret deal came to light in early March.