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KDH: Smer-SD Leading Party Both in Government and Scandals
Thursday 11 March 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, March 11 (TASR) - The evaluation of the current Government, as presented by Premier Robert Fico after inspections carried out at individual ministries in recent weeks, was lacking some important facts, Christian Democrats (KDH) chief Jan Figel said at a press conference on Thursday.
"The four-year reign by the three Coalition parties (Smer-SD, Slovak National Party/SNS and LS-HZDS) has been very costly," said the KDH leader, who listed 28 Government scandals, of which seven were to be ascribed to SNS, five to LS-HZDS and as many as 16 to the main governing party Smer-SD. Pictures of three coalition leaders (Fico/Smer, Jan Slota/SNS and Vladimir Meciar/LS-HZDS) were used as props by Figel during the press conference.
KDH vice-chairman Daniel Lipsic recalled the most severe scandals, for which SNS and HZDS are responsible. "As for HZDS, the peak are the cases with Baki Sadiki (an alleged drug baron and an acquaintance of former justice minister and current Supreme Court Chair Stefan Harabin - ed. note), and the Velky Slavkov case, which involved transfer of lands in the heart of the High Tatra mountains to people close to the HZDS chairman," said Lipsic.
Meanwhile, SNS is the most vulgar party within the Coalition, said Lipsic. "The SNS chairman behaved like a man that isn't bound by laws, and the Education Ministry (headed by SNS's Jan Mikolaj) allotted orders to companies offering the most expensive bids. But the crown is the notice-board tender, which has become a synonym for stealing and larceny," said Lipsic.
Smer-SD is not only the leader of the Coalition but also the leader in the number of scandals, said Figel. "I won't count all cases, but two are most gibbous - the case with explosives that in Ireland caused an unprecedented disgrace to this country and its security policies. (The Slovak police within a botched security test planted explosives into the luggage of an unwitting Slovak flying to Dublin - ed. note.) The road toll, for its part, is an example of an overpriced and bungled tender," said Figel.
The KDH head pointed out that President Ivan Gasparovic on Thursday dismissed the 12th minister of this Cabinet (Construction and Regional Development Minister Igor Stefanov). "The whole dozen (of ministers) was recalled over suspicions of corruption. Some of them shouldn't have become ministers at all," stressed Figel, who again didn't rule out the post-election co-operation with Smer, however.
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