Slovakia’s prime minister launched a new pro-Western party in September’s elections – #Slovakias #prime #minister #launched #proWestern #party #Septembers #elections
March 7 (Reuters) – Slovakia’s interim prime minister, Eduard Heger, launched a new pro-Western, liberal centrist party, the Democrats, on Tuesday to run in September’s elections after his coalition was ousted from power last year.
Heger, 46, is leaving the OLANO movement founded by his predecessor, Igor Matovic, after disagreements with coalition partners led to the downfall of the center-right administration.
The result of the election divided Slovakia political scene is quite ambiguous, with the main dividing line between pro-Western forces, including the current government, and the more pro-Russian stance of the far right in the past Prime Minister Robert Fico’s Smer party passes between. Stop supporting Ukraine.
Heger said that pro-Western democratic values and assistance to neighboring Ukraine are the cornerstones of his agenda.
Heger said at the press conference: “We want Slovakia to be democratic and free be a clear and reliable part of the world, a self-reliant and responsible ally.”
“We want to help Ukraine on its path to victory and peace. “We don’t want Putin’s army to be on our borders.”
Differentiating himself from his conservative rivals, Heger said he wants a country where “every citizen feels safe, regardless of race, gender, creed, nationality or sexual orientation.”
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Heger said Fico would not cooperate with far-right nationalists such as Smer (Direction) and the Hlas (Voice) party, which split from Smer on a more pro-Western platform and currently leads opinion polls.
Smer came second in the latest polls. 2006-2010 and 2012-2020increases the possibility of his return to power in some form. 2018The killing of investigative journalist in public a bribe and was forced to resign in favor of Fico Pellegrini after leading to mass protests against clientelism.
The refusal to work with Hlas, who Heger says inherited too much from Smer, suggests that it may be very difficult to form a pro-western government after the September vote.
Four ministers from the current government, including Defense Minister Yaroslav Nad Heger, have joined the new outfit.
Slovak S-300 under Heger weather to Ukraine, including the anti-attack system military sent equipment and allowed hundreds of thousands of refugees to cross the border after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in February 2024.
Reporting in Prague by Jan Lopatka Editing by Angus MacSwan
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2023-03-07 22:31:34
Source – reuters
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