Slovak president re-elected for second term[en] 

The position of president in Slovakia is highly ceremonial. Yet, the president has a say in forming the new government and can return the laws passed by parliament. 

The president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and has power, among other things, to appoint judges, university professors and generals. However, many would agree that the main impact the president has on the country's society lies in his personality and the authority that he or she can carry. 

The first direct elections for the Slovak presidency were introduced in 1999. 

Ivan Gašparovič secured a second five-year term as head of state by receiving 55.5 % of the ballot against 44.5% for his opponent, Iveta Radičová. 

Around midnight on election night, Radičová congratulated the winner and asked her supporters to respect the outcome of the vote. Her fate is yet to be sealed, but some are already suggesting she has a mandate to become a leader of the opposition with her party, the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ-DS). 

The first round saw a tight race between Gašparovič and Radičová (EurActiv 24/03/09). The former could count on the support of the two main government parties SMER (Social Democrats) and SNS (Slovak National Party, heir to an old nationalist party). 

Robert Fico, the country's popular Social Democratic prime minister, and the leaders of the Slovak National Party (SNS), his coalition partner, threw all their weight behind Ivan Gašparovič and called upon all voters to cast their ballot at the election. 

Leaked video blunder 

The election campaign was marked by a slip-up involving the incumbent, Ivan Gašparovič. During a private meeting with members of the ruling party SMER, Gašparovič said the presidential elections were "a fight for the future of the political party SMER". 

"In this position and in this situation, I am practically a member of SMER," he could be heard as saying in a video of his speech leaked to the media. 

The candid admission by Gašparovič, who had been busy profiling himself as a non-partisan "citizens' candidate" during the campaign, was an embarrassment for him and the SMER party. Being non-partisan is indeed a constitutional condition for the holder of the presidential office. 

Prime Minister threatens the media 

Prime Minister Robert Fico congratulated Gašparovič and, in the same breath, he stressed there would have to be "some consequences" for the Slovak press for how they reported on the election campaign. He claims that the information coverage was one-sided and overcritical of Gašparovič. 

"We will have to deal with the journalists, especially the Slovak press. Because if there is a loser of this election, it is the Slovak press for all those dirt, disgusting things, lies and allegations which they have put on the candidate, on the president," Fico announced during a special press conference. 

Hungarian card 

During the campaign, the defeated Radičová had enjoyed strong support in the southern regions of Slovakia, where the Hungarian minority lives. Besides her own party, the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ-DS), she received backing from the Christian Democrats, and had political support from the opposition SMK, a party representing the country's Hungarian minority. 

The co-ruling SNS party used the Hungarian endorsement to claim that Radičova was not a suitable candidate for office and that the Hungarian minority "should not decide" on the presidency of Slovakia. Gašparovič did not distance himself from these statements. 

What's more, fake leaflets of Radičová promising autonomy for southern Slovakia emerged in some places. Her campaign team filed criminal charges, but the damage had already been done. 

The bitter campaign around the Hungarian minority could leave deeper tracks in Slovak society. Béla Bugár, a former leader of the Party of the Hungarian Coalition (SMK), said that Slovak Hungarians would not honour Gašparovič as a president after the anti-Hungarian campaign. Pál Csáky, the current leader of SMK, said he believes the European Commission would take note of "how Gašparovič has won". 

"The European Commission is monitoring all the elections. I guess they will draw their own conclusions," Csáky told SME, a Slovak daily newspaper. 

In return, the SNS also claimed Radičová was against the establishment of an independent Slovakia in 1993. She was one of the signatories of the petition demanding a referendum on the split of Czechoslovakia, which eventually did not take place. 

New opposition leader? 

The question everybody is now asking is whether the SDKÚ-DS party which nominated Radičová will be able to make use of her electoral potential. The media and some political analysts see her as a new leader of the strongest opposition party, who should replace the rather unpopular ex-premier Mikuláš Dzurinda. 

Others are sceptical, however, and say they do not consider her suitable for the job. "I hope Ivetka will not feel insulted, but I cannot imagine her as the chairwoman of the SDKÚ-DS at all," said Eduard Kukan, former minister of foreign affairs and the party's top candidate in the European Parliament elections. 

Kukan ran for the presidential office in 2004, but did not make it to the second round. 

The SDKÚ-DS is now expected to deal with the outcome of the elections and possible consequences for the party during a meeting on 7 April.