SOME Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) deputies lashed out at their boss, Vladimír Mečiar, for his stubborn behaviour after rival Ivan Gašparovič won the second round of the presidential elections, the daily SME wrote.
After the results were announced, Mečiar refused to shake hands with Gašparovič saying that he had nothing to discuss with him.
The HZDS deputies also disagree with Mečiar's statements that the HZDS will distance itself from the parliamentary parties, including Robert Fico's Smer.
Analysts say that the defeat in the second round was one of the toughest blows Mečiar has ever received.
According to a former ally of Mečiar, Oľga Keltošová, there is tension in the HZDS deputy faction and many wish for Meciar to quit top politics.
Sociologist Michal Vašečka thinks that the HZDS without Mečiar would be able to keep its election preferences only if Mečiar left voluntarily.
"It has been a dilemma for the HZDS whether the party can be preserved without Mečiar," political scientist Darina Maľova said.
Compiled by Beata Balogová from press reports
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