Former Police Corps president Tibor Gašpar has started working for the Interior Ministry as of the beginning of August. As the ministry's spokesman Petar Lazarov confirmed, he is being employed as an expert in the field of legislation and socially excluded communities.
Following the murders of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his girlfriend, Gašpar's dismissal was one of the demands raised at the spring anti-government protests 'For a Decent Slovakia'. However, the former Police Corps president refused to stand down. The next interior minister, Tomáš Drucker (a Smer-SD nominee), also failed to oust him. Following Drucker's resignation, Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini (Smer-SD), who was temporarily tasked with managing the Interior Ministry, announced that Gašpar would end his term in late May. Subsequently, the new Interior Minister Denisa Saková (Smer-SD) announced that Gašpar's successor would be Milan Lučanský.
Tibor Gašpar's new role as advisor, however, will not be limited only to the Interior Minister Denisa Saková. He will also provide his services to her Czech counterpart Jan Hamáček, the ministry spokesman Petar Lazarov confirmed for TASR on Friday. Gašpar announced this in an interview for the Parlamentne Listy website, where he did not even rule out the possibility of entering politics. As he added, he would welcome a more objective take on him and his work from certain media, as he considers attacks on him to be purpose-built.
Opposition parties stay critical about the step taken by Denisa Saková. Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party leader Richard Sulík views her actions as harmful to society. Interior Minister has scored an own goal, said Opposition MP Gábor Grendel (OĽaNO). Grendel complained about a classic Smer-SD strategy - always taking care of "its own people", with taxpayers footing the bill.
