On Sunday, MP Petra Krištúfková of the governing We Are Family party stepped down from her post of Government Proxy for Family. This comes four days after she was appointed to this post which had not existed before and is being cancelled with her departure. Krištúfková decided to leave after media reported on her friendly relationship with the controversial businessman Marián Kočner, charged with various crimes including the ordering of the murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak. According to reports, Krištúfková spent a summer vacation in 2009 on Kočner's yacht and exchanged text messages. "At the time, I used to be friends with his (Kočner's) ex-wife. However, he acted standoffish towards me," said Krištúfková. As for her text messages with Kočner, she explained that he possessed information regarding a problem concerning her daughter. "It's not worth serving as a lightning rod through whom attacks are made against the Government, the minister, our party and, last but not least, my children," Krištúfková declared at a press conference on Sunday.
