Slovakia premier’s key ally to resign as political crisis deepens

Bloomberg

Slovakia’s interior minister will resign to prevent the collapse of Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government, which is trying to fend off calls for early elections following the murder of an investigative journalist.
Interior Minister Robert Kalinak told reporters on Monday he hopes his resignation, sought by the opposition and the junior coalition Most party, will help to stabilise the country’s political situation. Kalinak’s move to quit is one of Fico’s biggest political sacrifices of his three terms in power as he is also losing the man who was best placed to replace him at the head of his Smer party.
At the same time, it may provide a release valve on pressure against the premier, who’s the latest eastern European Union leader to face public outcry. Anti-government protesters have also taken to the streets in Romania, Poland, and Hungary, to complain their governments are undermining the rule of law. Fico has defied calls from demonstrators and President Andrej Kiska to give way to early elections in the euro-area country of 5.4 million.
“My decision to resign is tied to our efforts to stabilize the situation,” Kalinak said. The coalition, which also includes the Slovak National Party, has a slim majority of 78 deputies in 150-seat parliament, including 14 lawmakers for Most. Kiska has called for a “radical” overhaul of the government or early elections to restore trust in state institutions, which he said had been shaken after killing of Jan Kuciak, a journalist reporting on crime with alleged ties to politicians.