BRATISLAVA, August 7, (WEBNOVINY)- SaS leader and Speaker of Parliament Richard Sulik admits that parliamentary deputies for his party will not have deputy offices in the Liberal House, which a company set up by senior representatives of the party a few days ago plans to purchase and rent.
Sulik says he perceives it is an overly sensitive topic while they probably underestimated the public opinion in this case. He told journalists that SaS parliamentary deputies will not have offices rented there or they will be there but will not be financed by parliament. As far as he is concerned he will not have his deputy office at the Liberal House address but only as the SaS chairman.
Sulik recommended Prime Minister Iveta Radicova who rushed to criticize the SaS plan on Friday to rather concern herself in SDKU-DS financing where Sulik sees much more question marks than in the transparent funding of the Liberal House.
The SAS chairman explained that their only intention was to present the party. They plan a shop in the premises of the Liberal House, which will shelter as well the party headquarters and house also other liberal institutions. SaS MPs should have had deputy offices there in order to improve contacts with voters as offices at Bratislava Castle are controlled and access there is not easy. Sulik said that SaS deputies were to rent offices at the Liberal House for an appropriate market price and in no case for the maximum EUR 900 as other parties usually do it.
The prime minister considers parliamentary deputies using taxpayer’s money to pay for additional offices in Bratislava complete nonsense and absurd. „Moreover, in the house belonging directly to them, this is a clear abuse of public finances. It is also unacceptable that the owners of this house should have income or profit from taxpayers‘ money, which belong to the SaS for the election result. They cannot shed public resources just like that,“ Radicova commented through her spokesperson Rado Bato. „The deputies of all political parties have offices right next to the parliament,“ he argued.
The SaS established company has only one business activity – rental of real estate. It plans to buy a property on Priemyselna Street in Bratislava for EUR 2.2 million. They will call it a Liberal House and commercially rent its premises. The company also plans to borrow EUR 700,000 from the bank. The Liberal House should be the headquarters of the SaS party and a number of liberal institutions. The SaS party offered its members sitting in parliament the opportunity to rent deputy offices there, according to the SME daily. The rent for deputy offices, EUR 900 per month for one deputy, is paid by the state.
SITA
