Paper/Speech Details of Conference Program for the 14th NISPAcee Annual Conference Program Overview I. Working Group on Politico-Administrative Relations Author(s) Maria Ondruchova Government Office of the Slovak Republic Bratislava Slovakia Title Government Decision-Making Process File Paper files are available only for conference participants, please login first. Presenter Abstract The aim of the paper is to explore the decision-making process in the Slovak government, to describe the actors of this process in particular and to identify the limits of Prime Ministerial influence on the decision-making in the Slovak government. The following analysis will focus on the role of the cabinet in decision-making, with regard to the special role and the structure of the Prime Minister and his Office. One of the important objectives would be a distinction between formal and real limits of the Prime ministerial power based on specific examples. Special attention will be paid to the means of informal politics and influence. Concluding the findings, there will be a brief contribution to the discussion to what extent are the made decisions efficient and representative. The specifics of the Slovak case will be briefly compared with the previous findings of European colleagues in connection to the characteristics of cabinets in Eastern Europe. Synopsis (preliminary): 1. Formal powers of the Prime Minister; Structure of the Prime Minister Office 2. Description of decision-making process phases; basic aspects of Coalition Governing in the Slovak Republic 3. The Relationship between Prime Minister and the State Administration; The Relationship between Prime Minister and the Political/Coalition Partners 4. The limits of autonomous decision-making in Prime Minister’s Office – examples; The role of the informal politics 5. Conclusion - Representation vs. Efficiency in the decision-making process; Cabinets in middle and eastern Europe.
