THE RULING Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) of Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda does not have to pay a debt of Sk22 million (€551,000) because an unknown party assumed the debt in 2003.
The SKDÚ is refusing to reveal the name of the benefactor. Who took on the debt burden and their motive for doing so is the burning question of the day, the daily SME wrote. The SDKÚ insists that the party has met all legal accounting requirements.
Back in 2003, financial watchdog Fair Play Alliance evaluated the finances of parliamentary political parties. It said that if the SDKÚ were a business entity, it would go bankrupt, and made a similar assessment about another ruling party, the New Citizen's Alliance (ANO).
According to the TASR news agency, both the SKDÚ and ANO posted deficits exceeding Sk50 million (€1.3 million) for the 2000 to 2003 period. In 2003, however, the SDKÚ posted a slight profit, only because of the unknown benefactor who took over the debt. The SDKÚ's debts still amount to some Sk66 million (€1.65 million).
"The SDKÚ considers the Fair Play Alliance an untrustworthy institution and we do not consider their conclusions relevant," SDKÚ spokesman Martin Maťko told SME.
