Iveta Radičová may yet fail to win joint opposition support to become its candidate in the presidential race next year, the SITA newswire wrote. The SDKÚ-DS and the Christian Democrats (KDH) failed on March 19 to agree on the conditions under which the KDH would be willing to support the SDKÚ-DS deputy chairwoman in the presidential race. SDKÚ-DS Chairman Mikuláš Dzurinda said the solution now mostly down to Radičová, adding it is more about her personal attitudes rather than her political views.
KDH Chairman Pavol Hrušovský explained to SITA that they did not want to hear about Radičová’s political views, but her attitude to life. He said there was a fifty percent chance that they would agree and that the KDH would support her in the presidential campaign. Dzurinda stressed that it was necessary to elect a new president but he is not willing to sacrifice Radičová’s dignity to achieve this. He also stated that his party would not negotiate with the four KDH breakaway deputies to persuade them not to field their own presidential candidate. The SDKÚ-DS chairman said he would recommend that Radičová no longer take a stance on KDH requirements.
“Radičová will say nothing at this point. She will not declare anything publicly. We will not allow damage to be done to her dignity,” said Dzurinda. But Hrušovsky argued that, unlike Dzurinda, they need to hear Radičová’s response on fundamental issues. He said that the KDH would not withdraw from conditions formulated by the party's council, and would back Radičová if she publicly expressed support for protection of human life from conception to natural death, and a traditional family based on the union between a man and a woman. However, some senior KDH officials think that she is the only realistic opposition candidate for the presidential race. KDH Deputy Chairman Daniel Lipšic says he does not agree with some of Radičová's opinions, but he believes she is the opposition’s only chance in the presidential elections. SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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