THE RESULT of the run-off for regional governor in Banská Bystrica which saw extremist Marian Kotleba win, is “a serious blow to democracy in Slovakia, but hopefully it is only a temporary one”, the President of the European People’s Party (EPP) Joseph Daul commented.
“In this respect, I deeply regret the populist statements of Socialist Prime Minister Robert Fico and his party during the election campaign, which aimed at dividing Slovak citizens along ethnic lines,” Daul wrote in his official statement, adding that the prime minister “has a responsibility to draw from the unfortunate consequences of his party’s populist campaign, which fuelled the rise of extremism in one of Slovakia’s regions”.
EPP is a grouping of centre-right parties in the European Parliament, of which four of Slovakia’s opposition parties are members: The Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ), the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), Most-Híd and Party of Hungarian Communities (SMK).
Source: EPP
Compiled by Michaela Terenzani from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
