The affair surrounding state contracts awarded to the company Hayek Consulting, formerly owned by State secretary for the economy, Martin Chren (SaS), and State secretary for transport, Ivan Svejna (Most-Hid), has been resolved within the coalition.
The news came from a press conference today, 24 September, given by PM Iveta Radicova and SaS chairman Richard Sulik. Although the coalition partners agree that some doubts exist regarding the contracts, they certainly don’t agree with the calls made by opposition party Smer-SD to have not only the state secretaries dismissed, but also the respective ministers as well.
Instead Prime Minister Iveta Radicova and SaS chairman Richard Sulik have agreed to request the Supreme Audit Office (NKU) to examine the case in detail, and to determine whether public funds were effectively spent in the contracts or not.
If the audit office doesn’t conclude that the contracts were transparent, the two state secretaries should resign according to the NKU rules, announced Radicova.
At the press conference, Radicova also said she had considered the option of recalling the two ministers, but that she had decided this to be inappropriate. Thanks to comprises, the coalition survives once more, and compromise looks set to be the key word for the next four years.