Smer: This Is 'Kyselica Gate', He Must Resign

Bratislava, July 28 (TASR) – The Opposition Smer-SD party on Tuesday called on Interior Ministry State Secretary Lukas Kyselica (OLaNO) to resign from the Government and also waiver his mandate as an MP, claiming that he violated the law by running in the February general election while serving as an agent of Military Intelligence.

“The law on the state service of military personnel is clear: professional soldiers can’t actively take part in gatherings organised by political parties. Kyselica served in the Defence Ministry’s secret service between October 2019 and March 19, 2020. This means that he was a member of the Defence Ministry’s secret service throughout the election campaign,” said Smer-SD spokesman Jan Mazgut.

Smer believes that the case could have a deeper meaning. “It’s probably the beginning of a power struggle within OLaNO and of the disintegration of the security services,” said Mazgut. According to him, it’s obvious that Kyselica while a secret agent was loyal to OLaNO head Igor Matovic (now prime minister), and this is why he was given third place on OLaNO’s slate.

“What could be better proof of Igor Matovic’s political efforts to destroy democracy than the misuse of an agent in a political struggle? This is a dangerous precedent that mustn’t be tolerated by a democratic society,” said Mazgut, calling the case ‘Kyselica Gate’.

Dennik N daily reported on Monday that Kyselica was active in Military Intelligence between October 2019 and March 19, 2020. He became the Interior Ministry state secretary on March 21. The daily claimed that Kyselica’s fellow candidates for OLaNO didn’t know about his involvement with Military Intelligence.

Interior Minister Roman Mikulec and Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad (both OLaNO) in the meantime said that Kyselica still enjoys their confidence. Meanwhile, Parliamentary Vice-chairman Juraj Seliga from junior coalition party For the People called on Kyselica to “accept political responsibility”.