Kalinak’s resignation was a key requirement of a junior party in the government if it is going to remain in the ruling coalition. It’s not yet clear, however, if the move will be enough for the party, known as Most-Hid, which mostly represents ethnic-Hungarians. Its leadership is meeting later Monday, AP reported.
Kalinak’s move comes after tens of thousands of protesters across Slovakia demanded the resignation of the government and a thorough investigation into the shooting deaths of Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova.
Kalinak said that he hoped that by his resignation “I will contribute to the stabilization of the situation in Slovakia.”
Kuciak’s last, unfinished story was about the activities of Italian mafia in Slovakia and their ties to people close to Prime Minister Robert Fico, whose Smer-Social Democracy party is allegedly also linked to other corruption scandals.
Kalinak is Fico’s key ally in the party.
Thousands already demanded Kalinak’s resignation last year after he was linked to earlier corruption scandals.
Kalinak is the second minister from the Smer party to resign since the killings, following Culture Minister Marek Madaric.
An international team of journalists has been formed to complete Kuciak’s story.