According to the constitution, the head of the secret service is appointed by the head of state on the proposal of the government. The government proposed Pavel Gašpar, the son of the accused Tibor Gašpar, also known as a participant in the meetings at the hunting lodge, who, among other things, threatened revenge. The president responded to the proposal by stating that she would deal with it later, since according to the government, the secret service functions normally even without a director. However, it is expected that the president will not appoint Pavle Gašpar for several reasons.
The government’s response is to change the status of the secret service, thereby bypassing the approval of the head of state so that the competences of the head of the secret service can be fully exercised by his deputy, for whom the government can already appoint Pavel Gašpar even without the signature of the president.
The President announced that she will request an express change to the SIS statute, and will proceed according to its content.
Štefana Hríb’s explanation:
The secret service is a standard institution of a democratic state. It serves for its internal and external protection, and is an important part of constitutional bodies.
However, under the conditions of Slovakia, the secret service became a part of power and property struggles, taking part in such crimes as the kidnapping of the president’s son, the murder of Róbert Remiáš, or the fraudulent redistribution of state property.
Even after more than 30 years of independent Slovakia, the SIS did not become a respected institution, on the contrary, it stood on the wrong side in the decisive battles to cleanse society of corruption. In this context, the current events surrounding Pavel Gašpar as a possible head of SIS are also very important. The reaction of the president can be understood as disapproval of the further involvement of the secret service in the role of servant of political power. On the contrary, the government’s insistence on this single currency can only be understood as an effort to continue the practice in which the secret service is a tool of the government to consolidate its power, discredit opponents and achieve financial and other personal interests.
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