Independent MP and presidential candidate Radoslav Procházka met with the Party of Hungarian Community (SMK) chairman József Berényi on November 27 to discuss co-operation in the forthcoming presidential election.
While SMK won’t support his candidacy as the party plans to run their own presidential candidate, Procházka expressed an interest in having SMK’s support in the second round of the vote – when the two leading candidates compete against one another. Berényi hasn't promised him anything as yet.
“It's an open question,” SMK’s statement reads, as quoted by the TASR newswire. According to SMK, Berényi agreed with Procházka that there is a need to look for possibilities for joint action. They also agreed “that their mutual meetings will be regular in the future, including joint consultations”.
The decision of SMK to propose its own candidate came on November 26. Although the name of the candidate isn’t yet known, incumbent SMK MEP Edit Bauer may be in the frame. The candidate should emerge from a session of the party national council scheduled for December 14.
The presidential elections will take place in spring 2014, TASR wrote. Pavol Hrušovský (Christian-Democratic Movement-KDH and Most-Híd nominee) will run against independent candidate Procházka, entrepreneur and philanthropist Andrej Kiska and ex-KDH chairman Ján Čarnogurský (now running independently). Other people who have announced their candidacy include MP Peter Osuský (Freedom and Solidarity-SaS), civic candidates Leonid Chovanec, Jozef Behýl, Milan Melník, Ľubica Blašková and Rimavska Sobota Mayor Jozef Šimko. Last week, actor and former politician Milan Kňažko also announced his candidacy. The governing Smer party hasn't announced their candidate as yet. Prime Minister Robert Fico, who has not announced his candidacy, continues to lead all opinion polls.
(Source: TASR)
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
