IF PARLIAMENTARY elections had been held in late October, victory would go to main opposition party Smer, according to an opinion poll conducted by the MVK agency. Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda's Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) registered only 6.3 percent support.
Smer gained support from 30 percent of respondents, followed by the opposition Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, with 12.7 percent.
The ruling Hungarian Coalition Party received 10.6 percent support; the Slovak National Party got 8.7 percent, followed by the ruling Christian-Democratic Movement with 8.5 percent.The Communist Party and the Free Forum got 8 percent and 7 percent, respectively. The SDKÚ received 6.3 percent of votes. In August this year the party was still at 7.1 percent according to MVK. In the 2002 national elections, the party gained 15.1 percent.
MVK's Pavel Haulík said the decrease in the SDKÚ's support reflects a weak campaign. Merely defending opposition attacks is not a sufficient platform to get SDKÚ voters to support the party.
