Iveta Radičová's victory in the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) primaries is an expression of a certain amount of will to change things on the part of SDKÚ members, political analyst Juraj Marušiak told the TASR newswire on February 28.
“SDKÚ members made it clear that they are discontent with existing developments, and that they also simply realise that the party will gain much greater election and maybe also coalition potential (with Radičová),” said Marušiak. Despite this fact, Mikuláš Dzurinda remains the chairman of the party and Radičová will have to find common ground with him, the analyst said.
Political analyst Miroslav Kusý also thinks that Radičová's victory mainly means change within the party. “Radičová's opponent in the primaries, SDKÚ vice-chair Ivan) Mikloš, clearly bet on the continuity of Dzurinda's concept,” he said.
According to Kusý, Radičová brings a change in the stance towards other parties. “She's willing to adopt a wider scope in negotiations than Dzurinda was, and she is also willing to talk to Smer after the elections. In this she’s much more tolerant,” he said.
According to Kusý, another positive aspect of the new SDKU election leader is her expertise in sociology, which is crucial during a crisis. He also expects a different tone than from Mikloš in controversies with coalition parties in the election campaign. He also thinks that Prime Minister Robert Fico won’t be able to use that “vulgar, rude tone” against Radičová, as he would, for example, against Dzurinda or Mikloš. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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