After the Virus, Fighting Corruption Tops Slovak To-Do List

No government in Slovak history has faced challenges like those confronting the new administration led by Matovic and his anti-establishment OLANO party. Along with the deadly virus, it has the contagion of decades of corruption to content with.

Sworn in on March 21, Slovakia's new cabinet took power after two years of unrest following the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak — a crime that exposed a shocking entanglement of powerful business and political interests.

The subsequent investigation led to the arrest of a dozen of judges in an unprecedented corruption case.

In the throes of political chaos and the public health nightmare, the new government put together a legislative programme — an official manifesto that was passed by parliament last week.

Surprisingly for some, the programme became the longest "to-do" list of any Slovak government since the country split from Czechoslovakia in 1993.

Opposition leader Robert Fico — a former prime minister from the long-ruling SMER-SD party that OLANO displaced in a late-February election — called the plans "unprofessional" and "sci-fi".

But analysts have welcomed proposed changes to the justice system and foreign policy, describing the manifesto as "ambitious".

Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovic during election night on February 29, 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE/MARTIN DIVISEKCorruption in the crosshairs

Given that Matovic's election slogan was "Together against the mafia", it came as no surprise that anti-corruption is at the top of his government's agenda.

After only days in office, Matovic called out Kajetan Kicura, director of state material reserves, for suspiciously inflated procurement prices for essential medical supplies needed to fight...