Hlas leader Peter Pellegrini. (source: TASR)
The Slovak National Party (SNS) is signalling that its support for Hlas leader Peter Pellegrini's expected presidential run will only come at a significant cost – and that it will use bare-knuckle tactics to get what it wants.
“I don’t know what in life is free,” SNS leader Andrej Danko told the Hospodárske Noviny (HN) daily on January 4.
SNS and Hlas are, at least notionally, allies in the current coalition government.
Although Pellegrini appears to be the most popular potential candidate for the presidential election due this spring, he has not yet formally declared his candidacy and other candidates may still join the race. According to public opinion polls from recent months, only former foreign minister and senior diplomat Ivan Korčok – who entered the race in August last year – has a serious shot at defeating the Hlas leader. Yet Pellegrini continues to lead the polls - for now.
It is Pellegrini who, as the current speaker of parliament, who will announce the official election date. The first round should take place in late March, and a second round could be held in early April.
If Pellegrini wins, Danko argues, the coalition deal should also change. It has been reported that the SNS could be interested in obtaining the jobs of economy minister and speaker (Danko is currently one of four deputy speakers of parliament). Danko has not denied these reports.
However, Hlas has so far refused to re-open the coalition deal. It argues that that deal is based on the results of the parliamentary, not the presidential, elections.
