Peter Pellegrini (l), authorised to form a new government, and President Andrej Kiska (r) (source: TASR)
“The new, incoming generation” was how Smer chairman Robert Fico branded Peter Pellegrini, the man who is to become prime minister today.
Pellegrini will replaceFico, who announced he would resign to prevent early elections originally demanded by coalition partner Most-Híd.
In the 2016 parliamentary elections, Pellegrini ran in third place on the Smer slate, after Robert Fico and Robert Kaliňák. In the 2012 elections he reached 35th place on the slate.
“This is the type of person who came of age right here with us,” Fico said about him in 2014, when Pellegrini was elected the new deputy chairman of Smer.
Recently Pelligrini often spoke on behalf of the party instead of Fico, participating in debate programmes with regard to party-related matters and used to be the one to announce the results of the Smer leadership talks.
