IN AN IRONIC piece on the recent development in Slovakia's cabinet, the reputed Financial Times daily wrote on September 11 that PM Mikuláš Dzurinda is "determined to show everyone who's boss after his unexpected victory in last year's elections".
Dzurinda failed in his first effort to recall head of the National Security Office Ján Mojžiš, in whom the PM "totally lost trust", but has given no further details of what might have prompted him to begin the motion against Mojžiš.
Mojžiš is believed to have been cited by the PM as an alleged member of a group that, according to Dzurinda, damages the interests of the state and his own Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKŮ).
"Some cynics suggest Mojžiš had refused to turn a blind eye to the shady background of some of Dzurinda's cronies seeking state jobs or contracts, and the UK and US ambassadors have visited Mojžiš to show their support," wrote the Financial Times.
On September 10, however, Dzurinda's party colleague - Defence Minister Ivan Šimko refrained from a vote to oust Mojžiš, allowing the vetting authority boss to keep the seat until the next vote on his future. Šimko immediately received a vote of non-confidence in the SDKÚ, and will be recalled from his ministerial post on September 16.
The developments in this post-communist state under Dzurinda are now compared, by the Financial Times, to the era of the authoritative ex-PM Vladimír Mečiar.
"For some it is reminiscent of the days of Vladimír Mečiar, his predecessor," the daily wrote.
