Where did Matovič get all his votes from?

Authenticity may have been key, experts say.

The representatives of parties that will sit in the parliament. L-r: Veronika Remišová (Za Ľudí), Richard Sulík (SaS), Martin Beluský (ĽSNS), Boris Kollár (Sme Rodina), Juraj Blanár (Smer), and Igor Matovič (OĽaNO).The representatives of parties that will sit in the parliament. L-r: Veronika Remišová (Za Ľudí), Richard Sulík (SaS), Martin Beluský (ĽSNS), Boris Kollár (Sme Rodina), Juraj Blanár (Smer), and Igor Matovič (OĽaNO). (Source: TASR)

A few weeks ago, not many people would have expected Igor Matovič’s Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OĽaNO) would win the elections. Hovering at around 6 percent in polls last November, it seemed improbable he would become the leader of the opposition.

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

Related article The man who defeated Smer. Who is Igor Matovič? Read more 

The situation changed a few weeks before the elections, and “secret” polls carried out during a 14-day legal moratorium before the vote suggested that OĽaNO would be able to match or even beat Smer, which has been in power for 12 years.

SkryťTurn off ads

“When its support started to rise, people understood there was a chance that by supporting them, they would get a better result and would defeat Smer,” Grigorij Mesežnikov of the Institute for Public Affairs (IVO) told The Slovak Spectator.

Recipe for success

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

The New Stations of the Cross combine old and new.

New Stations of the Cross to combine surviving remains and contemporary architecture.


Píšem or pišám?

"Do ľava," (to the left) I yelled, "Nie, do prava" (no, to the right), I gasped. "Dolšie," I screamed. "Nie, nie, horšie..." My Slovak girlfriend collapsed in laughter. Was it something I said?


Matthew J. Reynolds
Czech biochemist Jan Konvalinka.

Jan Konvalinka was expecting a pandemic before Covid-19 came along.


SkryťClose ad