Ruling Party Urges Slovak Premier to Fire His Ally Over Murders

(Bloomberg) -- A junior Slovak coalition party called on the prime minister to fire one of his closest loyalists in the cabinet to calm down the situation following a murder of an investigative journalist.

Premier Robert Fico, whose 10 years in power brought the country into the euro zone and attracted investments from major carmakers, is facing a new wave of public discontent over shortcomings in tackling corruption. The increasing pressure is a blow to a leader who has diverged from his peers in ex-communist eastern Europe by edging away from euroskeptic sentiment and trying to solidify Slovakia's place at the core of the European Union.

He has so far rejected demands to fire Interior Minister Robert Kalinak even after another key party ally, Culture Minister Marek Madaric, quit and said he was “not able to bear” that reporter Jan Kuciak and his fiancee were shot dead in an execution-style attack. Officials have said last week's murders may be linked to Kuciak's investigations into activities of organized crime gangs, including the Italian mafia.

The ethnic-Hungarian coalition party, Most-Hid, said Kalinak can't stay in his post but added that it was up to the prime minister to make that decision.

“I think it will happen very quickly,” Most-Hid Chairman Bela Bugar told reporters after a meeting of his party's leadership on Thursday. “I don't think the ruling coalition needs to be sacrificed.”

The focus on Kalinak is particularly significant as he is the prime minister's political favorite and has served as interior minister in three cabinets that have run Slovakia since 2006 except for a two-year gap at the start of the decade.

More Protests

The opposition organized a protest on Wednesday and more demonstrations are planned this week. In response, Fico has accused his rivals of using the killings as “a simple political tool for the opposition, with which it wants to push people into the streets and gain power.”

President Andrej Kiska, who defeated Fico in 2014 to win the post, is planning an unusual step by holding a televised address to the nation on Sunday.

“The pressure on Fico is very strong; we have never been so close to a change of government,” Grigorij Meseznikov, the director of the Bratislava-based Institute for Public Affairs, said by phone on Wednesday. “Kalinak's dismissal could calm the situation to some extent, but the train has left the station.”

With media rights deteriorating in the EU's post-communist members, the country's first high-profile murder of a journalist has revived memories of media intimidation by organized crime bosses during the 1990s rule of authoritarian Premier Vladimir Meciar. Press freedom in Slovakia hasn't declined as much as in its neighbors Hungary or Poland, but it has seen escalating tensions between the government and news outlets after a spate of reports on opaque procurement and tax-fraud cases linked to politicians.

Kuciak's last story, which linked several businesses operating in Slovakia to the Italian mafia, detailed past connections between the companies and two of Fico's aides. The officials -- a security council director and a former Slovak contestant in the Miss Universe pageant who worked as Fico's assistant -- stepped down until the investigation is completed. They both rejected any connection with the murders.

Seven people were detained on Thursday as part of the investigation, according to police chief Tibor Gaspar. Authorities are pursuing the “Italian trace” in the probe, he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Radoslav Tomek in Vienna at rtomek@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at bpenz@bloomberg.net, Peter Laca, Paul Abelsky

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