LEADING European socialist politicians, French President Francois Hollande and European Parliament President Martin Schulz officially endorse Robert Fico, candidate of the ruling Smer party and current prime minister, in the presidential election run-off on March 29.
Last week, Fico received the support of Czech President Miloš Zeman and all three former Slovak presidents, who in a joint statement appealed to Slovaks to vote for an "experienced and internationally accepted politician". This was a clear reference to Fico, as his opponent Andrej Kiska is an absolute novice in politics, the TASR newswire wrote.
Such support from well-known politicians might influence voters to a certain extent, but domestic factors are more likely to prevail, political analyst Juraj Marušiak told TASR, pointing to Christian Democrat candidate Pavol Hrušovský, who received the backing of German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the first round of the elections, which did little to help.
"The domestic context will be decisive," said the analyst, as quoted by TASR.
Meanwhile, Andrej Kiska has the support of all major opposition political parties and four major presidential candidates who did not make it to the second round. Two of them, Radoslav Procházka and Milan Kňažko, are expected to hold a joint press conference on March 25 to voice their support one more time, the Sme daily wrote.
Source: TASR, Sme
Compiled by Michaela Terenzani from press reports.
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information
presented in its Flash News postings.
