Opposition fails to dismiss Paška

SPEAKER of Parliament Pavol Paška did not face a no-confidence vote after Smer MPs did not support the programme of the special session initiated by the opposition. The session was to take place only 30 minutes after the end of a failed no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Robert Fico which ended after 49-hour discussion, the TASR newswire reported on November 10.

SPEAKER of Parliament Pavol Paška did not face a no-confidence vote after Smer MPs did not support the programme of the special session initiated by the opposition. The session was to take place only 30 minutes after the end of a failed no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Robert Fico which ended after 49-hour discussion, the TASR newswire reported on November 10.

The motion was signed by 44 MPs representing all opposition parties. They wanted Paška to be removed because of his alleged involvement in the medical companies, especially the Medical Group which won the competition over purchasing a new CT scanner by the Piešťany hospital.

The opposition further claimed that Paška did not publish his incomes from the sales of shares in private companies, as well as his arrogant approach to the opposition, as reported by TASR.

Since the very beginning, Paška has denied any connection with the case, while also rejecting the claims about him having some activities in tax havens.

He responded to the earlier claim of independent MP Daniel Lipšic who said that the owner of Medical Group and a company called Penta Enterprises Ltd. have registered addresses at the same cottage in Belize.

“The circle has been closed,” Lipšic said, as quoted by TASR.

He also cited from the Gorilla file, a document which purportedly contains transcripts of recordings made by the Slovak Information Service (SIS) intelligence agency, allegedly describing the non-standard relations between politicians and businessmen: “Health care is a key issue for Penta in which it wants to do business with an appropriate profit margin. [Prime Minister Robert] Fico states that [Penta co-owner Jaroslav] Haščák can count on [Parliamentary Chairman Pavol] Paška over the long term.”

Paška is considering submitting a criminal complaint for slander and false accusation, TASR wrote.

Penta meanwhile denied having any ties with Penta Enterprises Ltd. It announced the intention to take legal action against Lipšic, as reported by TASR.

Also Medical Group SK issued a response to the claims over its alleged connection with members of the government and the parliament. It called the information untrue and decided to take legal steps since its reputation has been harmed, the SITA newswire reported on November 11.

Source: TASR, SITA

Compiled by Radka Minarechová from press reports

The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.

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