Premier: SIS will have regular leadership within a few days

         During the regular Question Time in Parliament on Thursday, Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) said that the issue of the Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) will be resolved and it will have a regular leadership within a few days.
        "We aren't little kids and I can inform you that within a few days this situation will be resolved and SIS will have a regular leadership with all that goes with it," stated the premier, adding that if President Zuzana Caputova won't act, they in the governing coalition will. He didn't say how he wants to resolve the situation.
        According to Fico, the President took the side of the opposition when she hasn't yet dealt with the issue of appointing the SIS head, who was proposed by the government. He stressed that she should perform her duties and either appoint the nominee or specify the reasons for rejecting him. Fico added that the government will cope with her arguments and either will seek another candidate or the rejected one will defend himself in court. He underlined that the proposed Pavol Gaspar is neither charged, nor criminally prosecuted. The Premier also pointed to the current situation and to the fact that for now the SIS is temporarily led by a deputy director.           
        The government okayed Justice Ministry State Secretary Pavol Gaspar's nomination for the top SIS post on February 14. The SIS head is appointed by the President based on the government's proposal. The head of state recently said that she's considering leaving the appointment of a new SIS head to her successor. 
  President Zuzana Caputova has no information on what kind of plan Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) talked about regarding the appointment of a new head to the Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) and hence can't make any comments, according to the   Head of the President's Office press department Jozef Matej.
  The Presidential Palace pointed out that the government proposed a candidate for the post of SIS director after almost four months of its inaction in the matter. "The government was in no hurry before and even as recently as a few weeks ago Robert Fico was defending that state of affairs by claiming that SIS is currently managed by a seasoned professional, who's doing his job well. Thus, there is no reason to appoint a candidate straight away, seeing as the government nominated him only as recently as a week ago," said Matej.
        Matej also cited the decision of the Constitutional Court, according to which the President needs to have sufficient time to examine the proposed candidate and his suitability for the post.
     By making changes to the statutes of the Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS), we are not altering powers of the Slovak President, Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Hlas-SD) declared on Thursday.  Sutaj Estok spoke with respect to rumours about plans to put a new management in charge of the SIS by introducing changes to the secret service's statutes. The minister underlined that Hlas-SD still maintains its rejective stance on any changes to the legislation that would restrict powers of the Presidency. (TASR)