Jozef Kollár, an MP for the opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party and the former head of its parliamentary caucus, confirmed on Thursday, December 6, that he intends to challenge party founder and current leader Richard Sulík for the SaS top job at its congress in March 2013.
"The potential of our party – of people and members, as well as the expert potential of SaS – is much greater than indicated by the latest stagnating polls ... We've been using this potential insufficiently," Kollár said, as quoted by the TASR newswire. He conceded that while the programme and values of the liberals, as SaS members call themselves, are solid, the party needs to address a broader spectrum of 'hidden' voters – and to poach voters from the ranks of other parliamentary parties' supporters. In addition, Kollár said he believes that the change in the management of the party is necessary in order to achieve a double-digit result in the next parliamentary election (set for 2016).
Kollár said that the greatest difference between him and Sulík is their respective views on how to carry out the party's programme and policies. "I consider Richard Sulík to be an honest and virtuous man. Sometimes, he [proves to be] too naive for top politics, and at other times he uses methods that are not necessarily acceptable," added Kollár.
Sulík said that he accepted the challenge from Kollár.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
