Slovakian Presidential Candidates Neck and Neck in Polls

The election took place yesterday and the good guy won, thank God! Peter Pellegrini, the victor is an anti-globalist and a Euro-skeptic. 

From The European Conservative

By Zoltán Kottász

PM Robert Fico says Slovaks deserve a head of state who will fight for the interests of the sovereign nation-state.

Former Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini and ex-Foreign Minister Ivan Korčok are virtually tied in the race to become Slovakia’s next head of state. According to different opinion polls, the sovereigntist Pellegrini and the europhile Korčok are both polling between 48-52% before the second round of voting, set to take place on Saturday, April 6th. In the first round, Korčok received 42.5% of the votes, while Pellegrini received 37%.

Although the presidential office is largely ceremonial, the election is seen as a battle between anti-globalist and EU-conformist forces. Korčok, a liberal, represents the latter; Pellegrini, a coalition ally of Prime Minister Robert Fico, the former.

The outcome of the election will depend a lot on how the supporters of the other first-round candidates vote in the second round. The supporters of Štefan Harabin, a former justice minister, who came third with 12%, will likely prefer Pellegrini. Harabin is a proponent of national sovereignty and Christian values, much like the Robert Fico-led government. Two other first-round candidates, former foreign minister Ján Kubiš (2%) and leader of the ethnic minority party Hungarian Alliance, Krisztián Forró (3%) have both endorsed Pellegrini, while former prime minister Igor Matovič (2%) and historian Patrik Dubovský (1%) are siding with Korčok.

Prime Minister Robert Fico also called for voters to choose Pellegrini, because, he said, Slovaks deserve a head of state who will fight for the interests of the sovereign nation-state. He expressed his concern that Korčok would use his power as president to interfere in the work of the government, and would use every opportunity to undermine its legitimacy.

In a debate between the two contenders on Tuesday evening, Pellegrini said:

Slovakia cannot just passively accept what Brussels or Washington dictates. We are and will remain members of the EU and NATO, but we will also speak out on how we imagine the institutions to function.

Korčok emphasized the importance of EU unity but stated that he does not support the abolition of the EU member states’ right of veto, something that Western European nations are pushing for.