A vote for Čaputová and against Smer

Extremists are out of the game, but we’re not safe from hearing their ideas.

Voters in Stará Turá (Trenčín Region)Voters in Stará Turá (Trenčín Region) (Source: SITA)

While the foreign press is mostly focusing on the impact that the murder of a journalist had on yesterday's presidential election in Slovakia, it should be said that Zuzana Čaputová's stunning result is more than just that.

SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement
SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement

Read also: Čaputová vs. Šefčovič: Presidential election is now narrowed down to two candidates Read more 

Yes, she does embody the ethos of the protests that have marked political life in Slovakia throughout the past year and that ejected Robert Fico, many of his ministers, and the police corps president from their posts. This is apparent not just from the words she uses in her campaign. One of her campaign videos directly depicts her as one of the protesters.

SkryťTurn off ads

But the elections have shown a yearning for change that goes beyond Čaputová’s personal stance: it is the direct rejection of Smer and everything it stands for on the Slovak political scene.

The rest of this article is premium content at Spectator.sk
Subscribe now for full access

I already have subscription - Sign in

Subscription provides you with:
  • Immediate access to all locked articles (premium content) on Spectator.sk
  • Special weekly news summary + an audio recording with a weekly news summary to listen to at your convenience (received on a weekly basis directly to your e-mail)
  • PDF version of the latest issue of our newspaper, The Slovak Spectator, emailed directly to you
  • Access to all premium content on Sme.sk and Korzar.sk

Top stories

Cycling routes can be found all around Bratislava.

Weekend: Dust off your bike and cycle along the Morava

Bike rides, creating your own art, the history of Book Month and more.


24. mar
Volkswagen will make all-electric versions of the Porsche Cayenne luxury SUV.

News Digest: Volkswagen Slovakia to produce all-electric luxury SUV

LGBT+ minority could face new difficulties, a suspect is charged in the Daniel Tupý murder case.


24. mar
Filip Toška holding chard in the hydroponic Hausnatura farm.

How a Mayan doomsday prophecy took a Slovak to hi-tech agriculture

Hydroponic farm run out of former telephone exchange.


9. mar
University student Daniel Tupý was murdered in November 2005 in Bratislava.

NAKA charges suspect in Daniel Tupý murder case

Eight out of the ten suspects detained this week have now been released.


24. mar
SkryťClose ad