With Hrnko, we had a non-aggression agreement, he broke it – Den N

A former head of the Ministry of Defense and one of the most quoted analysts in the Slovak media has entered politics – he is since last week Defense Minister of the OĽaNO movement. In a profile interview with Jaroslav Nada, you will read among others:

• why he entered the direction of Fic in his youth,
• why he quarreled with his excool Anton Hrnko,
• if he knows anything to praise, about the decisions of the IEC,
• why he thinks that Igor Matovic is a good politician.

Do you want to be the Minister of Defense?

I entered politics because I want to change things. And I can only do it when running. The simple answer is, yes, I want to be in the executive office to make things better. Until now, I'm not so far away, I only have a few days left.

How does the defense minister react to the capture of Ukrainian ships in the Azov Sea? What would you do now?

This clearly demonstrates the importance of having adequate strategic security and defense documents. "However, because of the CIS disaster and its defense president, we still do not have these documents. The current situation in Ukraine reminds us of how serious the problem can be (The IEC blocked the approval of new strategic documents a year ago by hampering its critical tone with regard to Russia – red.).

The current strategy documents come from 2005. What would have helped us update them?

Strategic documents should be based on new application and tactical documents for military or intelligence services. On this basis, these components would have clearly defined tasks to perform in such situations.

Let's move on to your story now. Anton Hrnko recently announced that you founded the Smer in Banská Štiavnica in your youth. Is it true?

I am sure that journalists always take seriously what Anton Hrnko says. This is also a case of deception.

The fact that you are a member of the management did not deny you.

I was a member, but I have not established a branch. I joined the Branch in 2000 when I was 19 years old. I came in because my father was a founding member of Smer. He expected him to meet other members, so he asked me if he could write me. I accepted it. Robert Fico was then perceived as a democrat, a fighter of Markiez, a popular young politician. At that time, he was not left – he was talking about a third way, acting as Slovak Tony Blair.

What does your father mean to the founder of the management? Was that how a group of alleged shareholders formed, who then received orders from the state?

I did not know anything about it. In the direction of the founding member's institute once worked, these members were dozens. As far as I can remember, Robert Fico sometimes made an advertisement about the year 2000 when he had founded the party. If people are interested in working with him, they must talk. My father saw the announcement and called the number. František Határ, then close associate of Robert Fico, took up the challenge today and thus met Smer. He has nothing in common with some shareholders, he left before the 2006 elections.

Did you leave the management when?

I went out before my father. Already in 2001 or 2002, I stopped participating in party activities and paying membership fees. I therefore decided to be excluded.

At that time, the government had not yet experienced at the government level. So why did you find it?

The last impulse has been the experience of my friend. The campaign leading up to the 2002 election announced competitions between undergraduate students on an optional position on the candidate. One of them was won by Edita Angyal, the other by Robert Madej, who later became deputies. One of the contests was also my friend, even in it. Finally, we chose Angyal and we suspected it was not completely clean. So we decided, with a group of friends, not to continue.

In 2003, as a political science student, you joined the Department of Defense, where you worked for ten years.

Yes, I went all the way, from the adviser to the director general of the section and the head of the political section of the ministry to the diplomat of the defense in Brussels.

At the same time, you are a long-time colleague of the already mentioned SPC member, Anton Hrnko, who currently chairs the Parliamentary Committee on Defense and Security.

Tono Hrnko was my first chief in the Ministry of Defense. In 2003, I joined the NATO unit that ran Hrnko. Then our relationship changed, for a time I was even his boss. We know very well, we talk about it. We are no longer in contact today, our political opinions obviously disappearing.

How was Anton Hrnko official from your point of view?

I will not call him a hitchhiker in the Ministry of Defense. When I became CEO in 2010