The Culture Minister announcing his resignation, along with two advisors to Prime Minister Robert Fico temporarily stepping down from their positions on Wednesday until the investigation is finished, is the current political toll following the murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak. A former top figure in the Smer party, Culture Minister Marek Maďarič said he was personally affected by the murder. Viliam Jasaň and Mária Trošková, the two advisors to Prime Minister, who according to Kuciak's last article published posthumously, had business ties to Italians linked to the mafia, strongly rejected any connection to the tragedy. Their announcement came after Justice Minister Lucia Žitňanská from the Most-Híd party, a junior member of the ruling coalition, stated that "It's absolutely unacceptable for people who might be in contact with mafia to work at the Government Office."
Meanwhile, in the justice minister's own party, voices asking for the resignation of Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák have been heard as his trust in the eyes of the public is very low. According to media reports, Most-Híd party leader Béla Bugár himself raised this issue to the Prime Minister on Wednesday. Party Caucus chair Gabor Gal said that he would have stepped down if he were in the shoes of the interior minister. The third party of the ruling coalition, the Slovak National Party (SNS), stated via a spokesperson that they would not make any comments on the current situation until the end of the investigation into the murder of the investigative journalist. In their opinion, the fate of the interior minister is to be decided by the Smer party. The main opposition parties have called for his resignation. On Sunday evening, on the public broadcaster RTVS, President Andrej Kiska will deliver a speech in connection to the murder of Ján Kuciak.
The police on Thursday carried out a raid at the house of Italian businessman Antonino Vadala in eastern Slovakia, arresting him. Vadala is one of the Italians mentioned in Kuciak's investigation as having business links to both the Italian mafia and people close to the Smer party and the Government.
