DELEGATES at a special congress of the ruling Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ), which was held in Zvolen, approved a merger with the Democratic Party (DS) on January 21, the Pravda daily wrote.
The party will be known as SDKÚ-DS. Slovak PM and SDKÚ chairman Mikuláš Dzurinda said he appreciated the tradition that the DS brings to his party.
"Some people would say that they (DS) do not have much percentage [in voter support]. The truth is that the DS has a tradition and many interesting people, party members who have been active politicians for many years," said Dzurinda.
DS is a tiny non-parliamentary party with voter support way below the 5 percent threshold needed for entering parliament. Its leader, Ľudovít Kaník, acted as Labour Minister in the current Dzurinda government until recently.
The SDKÚ congress only took 40 minutes and had no other points on the agenda due to the tragic military aircraft accident that took place on January 19, killing 42 of 43 people on board.
Compiled by Martina Jurinová from press reports
TheSlovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the informationpresented in its Flash News postings.
