The Whistleblower Protection Office is of great importance, the junior governing coalition parties For the People (Za ludi), Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) and We Are Family (Sme rodina) have agreed. More than a year after it was created, however, the Office is still not operational, as the Government have yet to approve a nominee for its chairman, who would be then voted on by MPs. There are currently two candidates for the post of Whistleblower Protection Office chairman, lawyer Zuzana Dlugošová and Martin Rajňák, an analyst with the Supreme Audit Office. The Cabinet, dominated by the OLaNO party which won the recent elections on an anti-corruption ticket, has not yet dealt with the issue, claiming that the coronacrisis needs to be dealt with first, and that it will then implement its own anti-corruption measures. When asked when the Government plans to assess the selected candidates, the Government Office didn't provide a clear answer. In April anti-corruption watchdog "Let's stop corruption" Foundation (Nadácia Zastavme korupciu) called on the Government to make the Whistleblower Protection Office functional.
Informatisation Minister Veronika Remišová (For the People) stated that her party is in favour of rendering the office operational as soon as possible. "If we want to be effective in the fight, whistleblowers must be sufficiently protected, as in the past it was common practice for them to be bullied or even fired," she remarked, adding that whistleblowing in Slovakia is in a poor state and that this is something law enforcement authorities are dissatisfied with. A similar statement comes from the other two junior coalition members. "Irrespective of which parties are in power, this is among the most pressing issues that need to be dealt with," reads the We Are Family party statement.
Meanwhile, opposition MP Matuš Sutaj Eštok, who's among the 11 MPs who have recently left the Smer-SD party, stated that he doubts the Government will keep its promise regarding the Office, and that he doesn't find it surprising the coalition hasn't yet reached any palpable results in this matter.
