The resignation of Police corps president Milan Lučanský casts a dark shadow over Police independence, according to Opposition Smer-SD MP Juraj Blanár, underlining the contrasting reactions to his decision made on Tuesday. "The Interior Ministry has already shrunk the powers of the police chief, intending to turn him into a mere puppet in their hands. Such efforts are anything but democratic," said Blanár. "I, for one, perceive his work as highly professional and reliable. I'd like to use the opportunity to thank him," said former Interior Minister and MP of opposition Voice-SD party Denisa Saková. The lack of confidence of the police chief Milan Lučanský towards the current Interior Ministry leadership confirms concerns that the police is being politicized, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Peter Pellegrini stated.
However, Michal Šipoš, caucus head of the largest governing Ordinary People party believes that the resignation is the beginning of the Police Corps' cleansing. Investment Minister Veronika Remišová agrees with Šípoš. "As the head of police internal affairs under the government of Smer-SD he had come up empty-handed in terms of results, despite the fact that many were aware of extremely serious suspicions of politicization and mafia infiltration in the police's upper echelons. These suspicions were later confirmed also by the investigation into the Kuciak case and the surveillance of journalists, yet not a single senior functionary has ever been thoroughly investigated and punished," stated Remišová. Deputy Speaker of Parliament Juraj Šeliga said that he had never trusted Lučanský, but thanked him and added that he was undoubtedly an improvement on his predecessor.
Milan Lučanský's final day as the Police Chief should be August 31. He took the post in June 2018 following the resignation of his predecessor Tibor Gašpar after street protests triggered by the murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová.
