Most-Hid: Kalinak Should Resign, Up to Smer-SD to Take Action

Most-Hid: Kalinak Should Resign, Up to Smer-SD to Take Action

Bratislava, March 1 (TASR) – Interior Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) should step down from his post, junior coalition Most-Hid party chair Bela Bugar told journalists after a party presidium session on Thursday.

Bugar informed the media that this is the prevailing opinion within his party, but it’s up to Smer-SD to calm the situation down.

Based on how Smer-SD chooses to respond to this call, Most-Hid will adopt a stance. It’s not clear yet how long Most-Hid will wait for Smer-SD’s response. “However, we won’t wait for a year. I think that even [Prime Minister] Robert Fico [Smer-SD] appreciates the gravity of the situation,” stated Bugar.

On the other hand, Bugar doesn’t believe that it’s necessary to sacrifice the Cabinet as a whole. However, MP Igor Janckulik has announced that if Kalinak doesn’t resign, he’ll leave the Most-Hid caucus. As for the stance of Justice Minister Lucia Zitnanska (Most-Hid) and her future in the Government, Bugar only claimed that she was present when the official party resolution was put together.

According to Bugar, Most-Hid always puts an emphasis on addressing issues in a climate in which cooler heads prevail. “Therefore, we urge everyone not to pour additional fuel on the fire with their actions,” he said, adding that Most-Hid has held talks about the situation at hand for two days in a row. “But I’m not sure whether every political party realises this, and whether every party takes the situation this seriously. That’s why I don’t appear before the media every day,” he added.

The Most-Hid chair claimed that he wants to increase the level of trust in the investigation into the murders of journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee and, to that end, he called for the investigative team to be joined by international investigators from various countries. “If this calls for legislative changes, we’re willing to lend support to that.”

Most-Hid is aware of the tension gripping Slovakia and understands that people are rightfully angry. “What happened is outrageous. On the other hand, we consider it to be extremely dangerous when some intend to use this public anger to escalate the tension further.”