The world media write about the first round of the Slovak presidential election. (source: Suspilne Ukraine)
Former diplomat Ivan Korčok and Speaker of Parliament, and Hlas party leader Peter Pellegrini, who sits in the populist Smer-led coalition with Prime Minister and Smer leader Robert Fico, as well as SNS party leader Andrej Danko, have made it to the second round of the presidential election.
Here’s what some of the world media have written about the first round:
1) POLITICO
The news website Politico runs short profiles of Ivan Korčok and Peter Pellegrini in its story, “Pro-EU diplomat tops coalition stalwart in first round”, adding that the president doesn’t have strong powers.
Quote from the story
“Smer has returned to power and is building essentially an authoritarian system and attempting to change [Slovakia’s] foreign policy orientation. Peter Pellegrini represents this trend.”
2) REUTERS
The news agency Reuters describes Korčok’s win as a surprise. It adds that Pellegrini’s potential win in the second round is “a chance for Fico to strengthen his grip on power.” The agency notes that Štefan Harabin voters can help Pellegrini. Harabin is a pro-Russian politician and a former Supreme Court chief.
The story was also published by The Guardian, Spiegel and Deutsche Welle. The Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza also cites The Guardian in its story. The daily also published its analysis: “The game is about whether the mafia state will survive”, on election day.
3) AP
The news agency writes that a victory for Pellegrini would cement Fico’s power by giving him and his allies control of strategic posts. The AP agency adds that critics worry that Slovakia under Fico will abandon its pro-Western course.
The New York Times adds that a victory for Pellegrini in the runoff vote “would most likely free the government to weaken the judiciary and to take a more combative stance in the EU over policy toward Ukraine.” It also notes that the election is a “test of strength between political forces that want the polarized Central European country to follow Hungary in embracing President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and those that want to keep the country aligned with the West.”
4) Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ)
The German news website writes that critics doubt that Pellegrini will really play an independent role as president and stand in the way of legally or democratically problematic projects. “As a junior partner in the coalition and speaker of parliament, he certainly did not do this when it came to judicial reform and broadcasting,” FAZ notes.
5) Le Monde
The French newspaper points out that Pellegrini is part of the pro-Russia ruling camp, led by PM Robert Fico, which has questioned Ukraine’s sovereignty. The story, which is based on a news report by the AFP agency, describes Korčok as a liberal, although Korčok sees himself as a conservative.
Quote from the story
“Mr. Korčok is supported by opposition parties who believe that a victory for Mr. Pellegrini, close to Prime Minister Robert Fico, would pave the way for presidential pardons for government allies found guilty of corruption.”
6) Czech media
Many Czech media outlets have followed the Slovak presidential election very closely. The ČT24 news channel writes that some Czech coalition politicians voice support for Korčok, while some opposition politicians support Pellegrini.
The ČTK news agency cites several Slovak dailies, including Pravda.
“The first round of the presidential election shook the position of Peter Pellegrini, who has so far been the favourite on paper in the race for head of state. It gives hope to Ivan Korčok that the fight for the presidential palace is not, despite the polls, decided in advance.”
The Czech version of the Slovak daily Denník N, Deník N, stresses that the second round may be decided by Harabin voters.
Russian and Ukrainian media did not pay much attention to the first round of the presidential election. The Russian news agency TASS only published a piece on the results. Suspilne Ukraine, a public broadcasting company, focuses on how Korčok and Pellegrini’s position differ on the war in Ukraine.
In addition to Czech media and Gazeta Wyborcza, the Balkan Insight, Aljazeera and The Guardian published stories in the run-up to the first round of the presidential election.
