DANIEL Lipšic, head of office with the Justice Ministry, left his post on April 1.
A revised State Service Law took effect that day, banning state bureaucrats below the level of deputy minister from being members of political parties. Lipšic, a member of the ruling coalition Christian Democrats (KDH), chose to remain with the party.
On the other hand, Boris Sopira, head of office with the Labour Ministry, Peter Gabčo from the Education Ministry, and Ján Vajrú from the Agriculture Ministry all decided to leave the ruling coalition Democratic Left Party (SDĽ) in order to hold on to their jobs. Tomáš Dömény, head of office at the Environment Ministry, recently left the Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK).
The law aims to reduce the presence of politics in the civil service. Bureaucrats have complained in the past of wholesale dismissals as each new government tried to install its supporters in the state service.
