The House Conflict of Interest Committee turned down complaints against Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) and Interior Minister Matus Šutaj Eštok (Hlas-SD) on Tuesday, while initiating proceedings against Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) and Committee chair Veronika Remišová ('Slovakia'-Za ludi-KU).
According to Pavol Goga (Smer-SD), the first two complaints didn't meet legal requirements and were rooted in nothing but media reports. Remišová finds this conclusion of the committee to be a display of double standards.
"The complaint against Sutaj Estok concerned suspicions of accepting a gift or a conflict of interest on his part, whereas the complaint against Robert Fico aimed to shed light into his trip to Vietnam, to find out how he paid for the trip, whether it was him or someone else," Remišová told the journalists. She maintains that these were "regular" complaints that are a commonplace agenda of the committee.
Remišová faces proceedings, as the coalition believes she violated the law when she used confidential property-declaration information about Kalinak's wife for political ends. The complaint in Kalinak's case revolves around Kalinak's failure to include his wife's villa in Croatia in his property declaration in order allegedly to "protect his family".
The head of Smer-SD caucus Jan Richter reiterated that if it turns out Remišová breached the law, the coalition will table a motion to dismiss her from her post. She could also face a fine worth twelve average salaries, whereas Kalinak can receive a fine worth three average salaries. The final decision is up to the governing coalition, which controls the majority of votes in the committee.
On Wednesday morning after twice being inquorate the motion by the opposition to hold a no-confidence vote in Defence Minister Kalinak will be moved to the agenda of the next regular parliamentary session, slated to start on May 27.
Source: TASR
