Slovak Interior Minister Robert Kalinak, resigned on Monday following large anti-government protests that erupted when details of the murder of journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée were released.
Following public pressure and calls by the junior coalition partner of Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government, the Most-Hid Party, for Kalinak to step down, the minister announced his resignation. His statement cited the maintenance of stability as vital to the country and the investigation into Kuciak’s killing, according to the Independent.
The coalition party doubted that an impartial inquiry was possible if a member of Fico’s government, which Kuciak was investigating when he was killed, was at the helm of the investigation.
It is unclear if the Most-Hid Party will continue to support Fico after Kalinak’s resignation.
According to the BBC, other coalition members are ready to call for early elections should the Fico government lose Most-Hid’s support.
The ongoing protests across Slovakia in the wake of Kuciak’s death have been the largest in the country since the fall of communism in 1989.
