Boris Kollár (source: TASR)
Welcome to your weekly commentary and overview of news from Slovakia. The head of the main intelligence agency is removed amid a scandal that further tarnishes Sme Rodina’s legacy. Claims of a “rigged election” are bogus, and part of a dangerous strategy, but many seem to believe them. Meanwhile, far-right MEP Milan Uhrík compares his youthful flirtation with liberalism to a bad romance.
If you have a suggestion on how to make this overview better, let me know at michaela.terenzani@spectator.sk.
Recent charges further tarnish Sme Rodina’s legacy
The summer started with all eyes on Boris Kollár and his domestic scandals, and it is ending with the attention of the public turned once again towards his party and its nominees. It is the kind of attention, however, that is not exactly welcome one month before a general election, especially with Sme Rodina scrambling to get across the parliamentary threshold.
This time, the allegations the party is facing are much more consequential for the republic than Kollár’s despicable behaviour towards women. Over the past week, we have learned, based on reporting by the Sme daily, which has obtained the document of charges in the investigation codenamed Unravelling (described in more detail in a previous edition of this newsletter), just how deep the alleged misbehaviour of Sme Rodina nominees at the country’s intelligence agency ran.
SIS working against the state
In short, the Slovak Information Service (SIS) – the country’s main intelligence agency – under the leadership of Sme Rodina nominees Vladimír Pčolinský and, later, Michal Aláč conducted operations intended to discredit investigators at the National Crime Agency (NAKA), and hinder or mar their investigations into crimes involving high-profile corruption by former government officials.
The NAKA investigators who brought charges in the Unravelling case believe Pčolinský and Aláč were part of a criminal group that fabricated evidence against the NAKA team investigating an earlier case, codenamed Purgatory; that they made false claims in an SIS report to parliament; and that they actively helped former police officer Ján Kaľavský, who has been convicted and sentenced to prison (although he is appealing his conviction in absentia) and is still facing further criminal charges in Slovakia, to avoid extradition from Bosnia-Herzegovina, where he is currently in hiding.
