Richard Ďurana z INESS poskytol dňa 12.6. 2010
pre Associated Press vyjadrenie ohľadom možného povolebného šetrenia na základe
posúdenia volebných programov. Problémom je podľa neho takmer plošné mlčanie a tejto
téme.
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Slovakia’s three party governing
coalition is fighting for survival in a parliamentary election on Saturday,
challenged in a tight race by the center-right opposition.
Prime Minister Robert Fico’s left-leaning party — which has
promised to maintain the welfare state, in contrast to the budget-cutting being
implemented in several other European countries — appears according to polls to
be heading for the largest share of the vote.
And the chances of its junior coalition partner, the
ultranationalist Slovak National Party of Jan Slota, were boosted by the recent
escalation of tension in the traditionally difficult Slovak-Hungarian
relations.
Yet that may not be enough for a majority because another
coalition partner, the party of former authoritarian Prime Minister Vladimir
Meciar, might not clear the five-percent threshold necessary for parliamentary
representation, polls indicate. A trio of center-right challengers might be able
to form a governing coalition with a good election result and support from two
ethnic Hungarians parties.
"I believe that it will be us who will form the
government," said Iveta Radicova, the election leader of the major
opposition Slovak Democratic and Christian Union, whose free-market reforms
earned the country NATO and EU membership.
The opposition pledged to improve the business environment,
create new jobs, reduce the deficit and fight corruption.
It was not immediately clear if turnout would be higher than
the record low of 54.7 percent four years ago. Some parts of the country have
been recovering from flooding last week and Slovakia has been hit by a wave of
hot weather.
Despite the country’s ballooning budget deficit, the
campaign was dominated by debate over a new Hungarian citizenship law, not the
economy.
Slota, who is known for derogatory comments about Hungarians
and other Slovak leaders, condemned last month’s move by Hungary to make it
easier for ethnic Hungarians in neighboring countries to acquire Hungarian
citizenship.
Many ethnic Hungarians, including 520,000 in Slovakia, live
in areas that were part of Hungary until the end of World War I.
Calling dual citizenship a security risk, Slovakia responded
with a law allowing authorities to strip Slovak citizenship from those who
become Hungarian citizens.
"I hope that the Slovak nation will wake up,"
Slota said Saturday after casting his ballot.
But the country, recovering from an economic downturn, has
other pressing problems, analysts said.
Since joining the euro zone in 2009, the budget deficit has
ballooned.
The country’s debt, at 41 percent of gross domestic product,
is still well below the EU’s prescribed 60 percent but analysts have warned
that a new government may not be able to meet the 2010 budget deficit target of
5.5 percent of GDP.
The Association of Economic Analysts predicted this month
the deficit could reach 7.4 percent.
The Institute of
Economic and Social Studies, a think tank in Bratislava said the major parties
have failed to provide concrete plans for necessary austerity measures.
An analyst at the
institute said the Slovak economy — which was quickly recovering from an
economic downturn with a solid 4.6-percent year-on-year growth in the first
quarter of this year — cannot be compared with Hungary, which had to be saved
from defaulting on its debts by a euro20 billion ($24 billion) loan in late
2008 from the IMF, World Bank and European Union, at least for now.
But, analyst Richard
Durana said, "These problems must be solved."
Fico, considered a populist leader, has rejected cutting
welfare benefits, as other EU countries, including Britain, have been doing to
avert a debt crisis like that of Greece.
Instead, Fico pledged to fight tax evasion and support the
economic growth.
He was a vocal opponent of the U.S.-led war in Iraq and
withdrew Slovak troops. He also said he would not allow any part of the Obama
administration’s revamped U.S. missile shield planned for Europe to be based in
Slovakia.
Parliament’s 150 seats are at stake in the country of 5.4
million, with 18 parties in the running.
One of the first tasks for the new parliament will be to
vote on Slovakia’s euro800 million share of the euro110 billion EU bailout plan
for Greece.
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