The entire governing coalition, as well as Smer-SD lawmakers, stand behind Parliamentary Vice-chair Tibor Gašpar (Smer-SD), head of the Smer-SD parliamentary caucus Jan Richter stated after the motion to remove Gašpar from office failed to proceed in Parliament. The opposition sought to remove Gašpar in connection with his involvement in the Purgatory (Očistec) scandal.
The opposition PS party intends to repeatedly submit motions to remove Gašpar from office as long as he remains under indictment, stated PS leader Michal Šimečka following the unsuccessful attempt to discuss Gašpar 's dismissal.
Richter reiterated that the no-confidence motion in Gašpar is primarily in the interests of the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party, which wants to cover up its problems regarding the family of the party leader, Michal Šimečka. "The trial of House Vice-chair Tibor Gašpar has begun in court; it has taken on specific form, and we believe that it will reach a successful conclusion in a relatively short time. We fully respect the parliamentary vice-chair and the presumption of innocence; the entire Smer-SD parliamentary caucus stands behind him," he stressed.
"As for this latest matter, as no decision has yet been made in the case, I consider it to be irresponsible, premature and nonsensical to speculate here about whether a recent amendment might affect me," said Gašpar in connection with the Purgatory case. "So, I reject the notion that I've been helping myself in procedural terms in any way. That isn't true. Among other things, laws here aren't passed by Tibor Gašpar, but by a parliamentary majority, which is more than 76 votes," he added.
Richter stated that if PS submits another motion to remove Gašpar at the next session, Smer-SD will "very seriously" discuss with its coalition partners the possibility of submitting a motion to dismiss Martin Dubeci (PS) from his post of parliamentary vice-chair. Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) had already announced this.
Slovak National Party (SNS) leader Andrej Danko responded that if there are serious grounds for Dubeci's ouster, this can be discussed within the coalition. Danko stated that it shouldn't be done in a 'tit-for-tat' manner, adding that so far, Smer-SD hasn't presented his party with anything relevant regarding Dubeci. According to him, colleagues in Hlas-SD share this stance.
"The Slovak Parliament has already experienced several dramatic moments, but it's never happened before that a lawmaker has faced charges in court for masterminding a criminal group one day and presided over a parliamentary session the next. We're concerned with protecting the good name of this institution, which has been tarnished by his indictment. That's why we'll seek to oust Gašpar at the next session in September," said Simecka, stressing that as long as Gašpar remains indicted, PS will submit motions for his dismissal at every opportunity until the next election.
PS emphasised that it doesn't want to take away the mandate that people gave Gašpar in the last election. "However, we disagree with how he's abusing his position in Parliament for his own defence. This conflict of interest alone is enough for him to resign," stressed the party leader.
KDH leader Milan Majerský criticised the fact that Gašpar is getting so much media attention and is able to defend himself and make excuses even in Parliament itself. "It's unfair; Smer should suspend him until the court proceedings are concluded, and Tibor Gašpar shouldn't currently be serving as House vice-chairman," he said.
SaS MP Maria Kolíková called it unacceptable for a person indicted for corruption and organised crime to hold a leadership position in Parliament.
Igor Matovič, the leader of the ‘Slovakia’ party emphasised that Gašpar lacks the courage to defend himself before Parliament, but he also lambasted opposition partners from SaS and PS for continuing to appear with Gašpar on politics shows, claiming that they are giving him a platform to manipulate public opinion. Matovič is convinced that Gašpar committed the crimes for which he is charged. "After all, several people in this case have already been convicted, who have confessed, who have admitted they were part of it - about how he [Gašpar] received bribes from tax fraudsters in exchange for not investigating them," he said, adding that Gašpar, as police president, betrayed his mission.
The opposition sought to remove Gaspar in connection with his involvement in the Purgatory scandal. The trial in the Purgatory case, involving allegations concerning the formation and operation of a criminal group within the highest ranks of the police and security bodies between 2012-2018, began at the Specialised Criminal Court (STS) in Banska Bystrica on Monday (8 June). Gašpar served as Police Corps president from 2012 to 2018.
Source: TASR
