Slovakia's president refuses to appoint climate change denier as environment minister

BELGRADE, Serbia

Slovakia's President Zuzana Caputova on Thursday refused to accept Rudolf Huliak's candidacy as the country's next environment minister, saying that his credentials did not qualify him for the job as he was once a climate change denier.

Caputova said a climate change denier will not be Slovakia's next environment minister.

Huliak was proposed by Robert Fico, chairman of the Social Democracy (SMER) party, which is part of the three-party coalition government led by the left-wing Direction party.

Huliak is not even a member of the SMER party.

“A candidate who for a long time does not recognize the scientific consensus on climate change and, according to him, (believes) no real climate crisis exists, cannot lead and represent a department whose main task, according to the law, is the protection of nature and the Earth's climate system," Caputova said in a statement to Slovakia's Politico daily.

Caputova asked Fico to nominate a new candidate.

The party will not change its candidate and has warned the president not to exceed her powers, the Slovak News Agency (TASR) reported.

This rejection may make it difficult for Fico to approve the coalition government and represent his country as prime minister at the European Summit, which will be held in Brussels on Oct. 26-27.