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Fico: I'm Sorry for Hanzel, His Claims Are Utter Hogwash
Wednesday 19 May 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, May 19 (TASR) - Allegations made by entrepreneur and former Smer-SD party MP Bohumil Hanzel are "utter hogwash", Prime Minister and Smer-SD chairman Robert Fico told a press conference on Wednesday.
"He's basing his accusations on some sort of notes (of his). They're utter hogwash, I feel sorry for him," said Fico, adding that Hanzel is striving to create the false impression that he was one of the key people in Smer's creation.
"This gentleman was never a founding member of Smer," said the premier. At the same time, Fico brought up the question as to why Hanzel - who Fico claims is on close terms with the opposition SDKU-DS party and parliamentary vice-chair Milan Hort in particular - decided to speak out 26 days prior to the general election.
"We've parted ways with him, because he voted in favour of Zajac's reforms," said Fico, referring to legislative changes introduced by ex-health minister Rudolf Zajac during the former government's term of office (2002-06). According to the premier, that was why Hanzel wasn't included on Smer's slate for the 2006 general election.
"First of all I'd like to say that the accounting and financing of the party have been in absolute order since the party was founded in 1999," said Fico. "We've been under fierce scrutiny ever since the beginning," he added, stressing that all financial reports and audits are fully available.
In an interview published by SME daily on Wednesday, Hanzel said that he arranged meetings between Fico and Smer's sponsors, who sank tens of millions of crowns into the party. In addition, Hanzel claimed that he can provide proof that in late 1999 he and Fico agreed to seek out influential people willing to bankroll the party. He claimed to have arranged separate meetings for Fico with five major bankers and five entrepreneurs.
Hanzel also reaffirmed his recent statements that Smer's election campaign in 2002 cost Sk284 million (€9.4million), far more than the officially announced figure.
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