Stop Corruption Foundation: Fico's Claims Have Nothing to Do with Reality

Bratislava, November 29 (TASR) – The Stop Corruption Foundation on its Facebook page stated that Prime Minister Robert Fico’s (Smer-SD) claims that the foundation has been set up for political reasons have nothing to do with reality and are not substantiated, TASR learnt on Tuesday.

Fico said that the foundation has been set up for concrete political purposes and that it’s close to President Andrej Kiska. Fico thinks that this foundation is Kiska’s stepping stone to form a proper political party.

“The premier is a lawyer and he should respect the rules, which are that when an accusation is raised, corresponding evidence supporting the claim needs to be presented as well. He [Fico] hasn’t submitted anything; we view the attack on us and on President Kiska as a means of diverting attention from the €23-million purchase of equipment for the Saint Michael’s Hospital in Bratislava,” noted the foundation.

According to the foundation, Fico’s accusations represent an “inappropriate attack on the personal integrity of the foundation’s founders – Miroslav Trnka and Michal Blaha”.

The foundation stressed that it was established in 2012 – that is, at a time when Kiska couldn’t have even surmised that he would be elected president by the people two years later. “Miroslav Trnka has said on multiple occasions that he has never even thought about entering politics and he doesn’t want to change his stance on this in the future, either,” noted the foundation.

The foundation has recently pointed out that the Saint Michael’s Hospital bought all of its equipment via a single public tender worth €23 million. The foundation said that many pieces of equipment were overpriced. The hospital has rejected such claims. This purchase should be investigated by experts from the hospital, the foundation and the Health Ministry.