Mikulec: Kalinak Has Turned Defence Ministry into Shopping Mall

Bratislava, December 30 (TASR) - Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) has turned his ministry into a shopping mall, former interior minister and MP Roman Mikulec ('Slovakia', 'For the People', KU caucus) told TASR in his end-of-year assessment of the situation at the ministry, stressing that the minister is mainly engaged in overpriced purchases. "We know very well about the recently announced purchases from America of old used helicopters; absolutely unnecessary purchases, experts are tapping their foreheads. I'm asking who is going to fly in them when there aren't enough pilots in the army to fly two Spartans," stated the ex-minister, noting that Kalinak has criticised deals with the United States in the past. According to Mikulec, Kalinak "doesn't give a damn" about people and soldiers. The MP added that he believes that the ministry has prepared a competition for gloves for a specific company. "This is exactly the DNA of Robert Fico's (Smer-SD) government, and Robert Fico is covering all this up for them," he said. am/df