The audio recording of a conversation between Ordinary People (OLaNO) head Igor Matovič and Radoslav Prochazka (Siet), published in full over the weekend, stirrs again the already so murky waters of Slovak politics. Prochazka, a former MP of the Christian Democratic Party and a former presidential candidate and the founder of the party Siet, is accused of discussing the possibility of buying election advertisements in Matovič's wife's newspaper without proper invoicing. He denies it. The recording was presented by Matovič to an investigator in December after he was called to do so by the police. A prosecutor from the Prosecutor-General's Office launched an investigation into Prochazka's activities concerning the crime of preparing to engage in tax evasion. Political analysts Grigorij Mesežnikov and Rastislav Toth, however, are skeptical that the recording will have a decisive impact on the Slovak political scene before next year's general election. „It is unpleasant for Prochazka, but it doesn't indicate that he's a stooge of some figures in the background. As he didn't know that he was being recorded, he was far more sincere than the person who knew about it," said Mesežnikov.
Political analyst Rastislav Toth also doesn't believe that the affair will weaken Prochazka. "Matovič isn't an authority for the public ... It's better for the pary Siet that it didn't appear later in electoral campaign, however. Every piece of dirt, even a small speck, devalues a person. So it's good to get rid of any dirt," said Toth. Analysts think that the recording may, however, complicate relations with certain parties that were mentioned in the conversation, namely the Christian Democrats (KDH) and ruling Smer-SD. Prochazka stated in the recording that there are "agreements signed by the top echelons between these parties, and I don't mean party echelons, but those of sponsors". He added that though Christian Democrats hope to be in a coalition with Smer following the 2016 general election, they won't even make it into Parliament.
