On Thursday morning, an extraordinary session on the motion to dismiss Michal Šimečka (PS) from the post of Deputy Speaker of Parliament began in the plenary of the National Council of the Slovak Republic (NR SR), with 50 speakers signing up for it.
The motion to dismiss Šimečka was submitted on 5 September by MPs from the coalition Smer-SD and SNS. They want him to be dismissed because of suspicions of the use of state subsidies by persons close to him, as well as suspicions of manipulation in the allocation of subsidies. They also accused him of organising protests against the management of the culture and justice ministries, where they say Šimečka’s family is losing its financial backing.
Šimečka sees the proposal for his dismissal as revenge for good opposition work. He rejected the criticism. He claims that his dismissal is being pushed by Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD), whose attacks on him and his family to distract attention from the real problems of Slovakia. He pointed out that all the foundations and civic associations mentioned by Fico and the coalition had been drawing subsidies long before he entered politics.
Source: TASR
