SaS and 'Slovakia' Call on Health Minister Sasko to Resign (2)

Bratislava, 11 August (TASR) – Health Minister Kamil Sasko (Voice-SD) has no business remaining in his post, said opposition parties Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) and 'Slovakia' during press conferences held on Monday. They added that merely cancelling the ambulance service tender isn't enough because it's just one of the steps that the minister should take, with the next one being his resignation. SaS leader Branislav Groehling called on Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) to dismiss Sasko, saying that "he has absolutely no business remaining there. Nobody is backing him, nobody is defending him except for Voice-SD leader Matus Sutaj Estok." According to Michal Sipos ('Slovakia'), the ambulance tender was a dirty deal. He stated that Sasko needed to buy time for negotiations with Fico and coalition SNS party leader Andrej Danko and to "agree with the sponsors of these two parties on finding a way to divide up the thirty pieces of silver". Sipos added that 'Slovakia' is urging Sasko to leave "as he's been [back] in Slovakia for five days now and keeps saying how he is disturbed, that he still doesn't know how it turned out and that he will wait and see ... he's just muddying the waters and gaining time." "That's why we've decided today to urge him to pack all his things and leave, ideally for political retirement," stated Sipos. Representatives of the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) reiterated that the ambulance service tender is non-transparent and must be cancelled. However, this is not enough and they insist that Sasko should resign. "If by any chance Minister Sasko thinks that he'll somehow stand this, that the tender will continue, then we're ready at that moment to call a protest here in Bratislava so that people come to express their disagreement with the way money is being handled in our health-care system," PS chair Michal Simecka pointed out at a press conference on Monday. The opposition parties have been critical of the tender and submitted a no-confidence motion in Sasko to Parliament on Friday (8 August). An extraordinary session has been convened by House Chair Richard Rasi (Voice-SD) for Wednesday (13 August). Sasko declared that he won't allow scandals or "shady deals". Head of the Emergency Medical Service Operations Centre Marian Povolny resigned on Monday. jrg/df/ko/am/mcs