President Ivan Gašparovič’s unwillingness to appoint general prosecutor-elect Jozef Čentéš to the post is supported by one in four Slovaks, according to a survey presented by the Public Affairs Institute (IVO) on Tuesday, December 11. Around 6 percent of the 1,013 respondents fully approve of the President's refusal to appoint Čentéš, who was elected by parliament last year in June, while 19 percent claim it "tends to be the right" approach.
According to the survey carried out by Focus agency in November, 40 percent of the respondents find Gašparovič's stance to be inappropriate, with 15 percent feeling decisively negative about it. More than 35 percent of people said they could not answer the question. The refusal to appoint Čentéš until all complaints submitted to the Constitutional Court are resolved, including those filed by Čentéš against Gašparovič, does not sit well with university-educated people. An above-average critical stance to this issue was also expressed by people from Trenčín, Bratislava, Košice and Nitra regions, the TASR newswire wrote.
When it comes to the political preferences of those who do not support Gašparovič’s handling of Čentéš’ appointment, the highest number of opponents are found among Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) voters (76 percent). Voters of other parties are less critical. For example, among Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) voters, 30 percent approve of Gašparovič's waiting game. Smer voters are not united either: 37 percent OK Gašparovič's move, 28 disapprove, and 35 percent could not answer the question.
(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.
