THE OPPOSITION Smer party admitted responsibility for a brochure attacking the ruling Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) party of Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda.
"We published several thousand brochures about the biggest sins of the Mikuláš Dzurinda government, accompanied by caricatures," Smer spokeswoman Silvia Glendová admitted to the SITA news wire.
"The brochure was a response to the SDKÚ's election slogan, 'Let's Speak to the Facts'. The brochure includes facts on the results of this government and covers areas such as wages, privatization, health care, corruption, regional disparities and so on," she said.
The brochures are being delivered to people's mailboxes. They include caricatures and seven references to the SDKÚ's election promises, such as "Slovakia needed decent politics; the SDKÚ had the courage to cheat on the nation" or "Wages will double: Who's the populist here?" referring to a promise made by Dzurinda in the 1998 election campaign.
SDKÚ Deputy Chairman Pavol Kubovič told SITA that the unsigned anonymous leaflets were being handed out around Slovakia by people paid by Smer.
He added that unlike the authors of the leaflets, each promotional material produced by the SDKÚ is signed because "our party does not have a problem talking to people in a straightforward manner, to the point, about its plans".
Compiled by Martina Jurinová from press reports
TheSlovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the informationpresented in its Flash News postings.
