Prague, July 19 (CTK) – Former Czech police organised crime squad (UOOZ) head Robert Slachta, who left the police as of June 30 since he disagreed with a prepared reform, may be offered a job by Supreme Audit Office (NKU) President Miroslav Kala, Lidove noviny (LN) writes yesterday, referring to its sources.
A month after his resignation, Slachta, who headed the elite UOUZ from 2008, is still jobless though he did not conceal that he would like to keep working for the state.
No one has talked to him about his professional future yet. Interior Minister Milan Chovanec (Social Democrats, CSSD) said there was no post for Slachta in this sector, LN adds.
However, Kala confirmed that he would be interested in Slachta’s experience.
“If Robert Slachta is interested in it, he can contact me. I would need people of his calibre and experience and would give him an offer,” Kala told LN, adding that Slachta could work in the nascent NKU analytical section.
Slachta says no one has offered him any position yet, and he is registered with the labour office.
However, Slachta is not the only influential person from the security corps for whose future the state should care.
Former BIS civilian counter-intelligence service Jiri Lang has also asked for dismissal recently. While PM Bohuslav Sobotka (CSSD) has actively dealt with Lang’s further work in state services, politicians have a lukewarm stance on Slachta, LN says.
According to LN sources, Kala informally mentioned the possibility to employ Slachta in Sobotka’s presence, but Sobotka denies it.
Kala says it was rather a general debate about the NKU. “If Sobotka says he would like me to meet experienced people like Slachta and Lang in connection with their possible work for the NKU, I would undoubtedly do so and try to find posts for them,” Kala told LN.
LN adds that the decision on Slachta’s future job might be politically tinged.
The police reform caused a serious rift between the two major government parties, the CSSD and ANO whose representatives spoke about a violation of the government coalition agreement and threatened to withdraw from it.
At the beginning of last week, ANO tried to persuade the third government member, the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL), to jointly try to push for Slachta as new BIS head, which would be politically unfeasible, only to “annoy” the CSSD, LN says.
Slachta is still considering his further steps.
LN writes that apart from the NKU or BIS, he might seek a post in the Customs Authority of the Czech Republic or the nascent National Centre against Organised Crime (NCOZ) to be established after the merger of the UOOZ and the the Office for Uncovering of Corruption and Financial Crime (UOKFK). Nevertheless, Slachta resigned exactly in protest against this police reshuffle.
