Glvac Decides to Keep His Post for Time Being, Fico Supports Him
Bratislava, October 29 (TASR) – Parliamentary Vice-chair Martin Glvac (Smer-SD) has decided to keep his post for the time being, TASR learnt on Tuesday.
Glvac called on everyone who was in contact with Marian K. to relinquish their posts first. Then he will do the same.
Speaking at a press briefing held alongside Smer-SD chair Robert Fico, Glvac claimed that he’d known Marian K. [name abbreviated due to legal reasons – ed. note], a controversial entrepreneur charged with ordering the murder of journalist Jan Kuciak, for 20 years. He added that he won’t make any comments about his chats with Marian K. until law-enforcement bodies take up a public stance. He believes that political contacts with Marian K. are being misused in a purpose-built manner exclusively against members of Smer-SD, even though politicians from opposition parties have met him as well.
Glvac thanked Smer’s coalition partners for voting down the proposal to convene an extraordinary parliamentary session aimed at holding a no-confidence motion in him. He declared that he’ll decide whether to resign or stay on as a parliamentary vice-chair soon. “Of course, I’ll act in a way that won’t damage Smer-SD.”
“As Smer-SD chairman, it’s my duty to stand by my people in both good times and bad,” said Fico. “I appreciate the work that has been done by Martin Glvac.”
Fico lashed out at the media, which he also believes are pinning responsibility only on Smer-SD members. Journalists should give the same treatment to, for instance, SaS leader Richard Sulik, who met Marian K. at the latter’s house, plus OLaNO leader Igor Matovic for his “tax fraud” and Andrej Kiska, who, according to Fico, would “even steal shoes from a dead man”.
Fico’s and Glvac’s statements didn’t sit well with Matovic, who thinks that the Smer-SD party is underestimating its voters in the belief that they’re “dumb like a box of rocks”.
It was Matovic who released the alleged Viber chats between Glvac and Marian K. last week. According to the messages, Marian K. had his own lackey appointed to the post of Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) deputy director and Glvac knew about this. Glvac also supposedly lied when he said that he hadn’t met the businessman since 2012.
Glvac has rejected the allegations, also filing a criminal complaint.
