For his contribution in preparing Slovakia's entry into the Eurozone, the international financial affairs publication The Banker named Počiatek as the "Best finance minister for the year 2008 in Europe."[6]
Controversy
Počiatek caused controversy when he participated in a yacht trip on the Mediterranean organised by a private equity group accused of profiting from currency speculation before the koruna was revalued against the euro in May 2008. Pociatek denied wrongdoing but later apologised.[7]
By late 2008, opposition pressure was mounting again to dismiss Počiatek over his alleged mishandling of a court case involving state-owned lottery company Tipos.[8]
In 2019 video of Počiatek recorded through a candid camera in the prosecutor general's office (Dobroslav Trnka) was leaked, in this video Počiatek openly discussed and joked about corruption skills of Slovak National Party leader Ján Slota, and discussed with Trnka how to cover up the Tipos mishandling.[9]