In an interview with the Pravda daily paper, Smer party head Robert Fico has promised to follow a tougher leftist policy in the next government than practiced by the socialist groups in the 1998-2002 Mikuláš Dzurinda administration.
He added he believed President Rudolf Schuster should give the winner of weekend elections the authority to build a government, rather than allowing the country’s right-wing parties to unite and receive a collective mandate.
Fico said his party was not ruling out cooperation in government with any party, including the opposition HZDS, which has been ostracized by foreign governments for its autocratic behaviour while in government from 1994-1998.
He did, however, say Smer refused to work with current PM Mikuláš Dzurinda and Deputy PM Ivan Mikloš, as well as former PM Vladimír Mečiar.
Compiled by Tom Nicholson from press reports.
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
