0
Sunday 11 March 2012 - 11:26

Leftists win majority in Slovakia parliamentary elections

Story Code : 144747
Slovakia
Slovakia's President Ivan Gasparovic (L) with his wife Silvia casts their vote during the general election day in the capital Bratislava on March 10, 2012.
Near-final results of almost 95 percent of the polling stations showed that the party of the former Prime Minister Robert Fico was pioneer in the polls and managed to gain 84 seats in the 150-seat parliament.

Fico, a populist leader, who was Slovak prime minister from 2006 to 2010 has promised to preserve the welfare system while raising taxes on corporations and the rich.

"Smear can now fully implement its programme... of a welfare state, of improving the condition of public finances, not at the cost of low-income groups," said Fico.

Damaged by allegations of graft, the ruling Slovak Democratic and Christian Union-Democratic Party looked to have suffered severe losses in the election, but it gained enough votes to retain seats in the parliament.

In December, a file known as "Gorilla" - allegedly compiled by the country's SIS spy agency - appeared on the Internet suggesting that a private financial group bribed government and opposition politicians in 2005-06 to win lucrative privatization deals.
Comment