The victory of a civilian candidate Andrej Kiska in the Slovak presidential elections this weekend drew a lot of interest from various sources, home and abroad.
The foreign press agencies report on a political newcomer, philanthropist, supposed millionaire and former businessman taking a wide lead over the current Prime Minister Robert Fico. Foreign press titles, like the BBC, the Daily Telegraph or the Reuters news agency, highlight also the fact that Andrej Kiska is to become the first Slovak president with no communist past.
One of the first congratulations to Andrej Kiska on his victory came from the neighboring Czech Republic, where both the Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and the country’s president Milos Zeman backed the candidacy of Robert Fico; however, the Czech PM Sobotka said that Slovakia witnessed an intense, yet fair election battle that attested to the strength of the country’s democracy. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy on Sunday congratulated Andrej Kiska on his election as Slovak president, and said that they believe that he will contribute towards resolving challenges faced by Slovakia and the EU.
Political analysts both in Slovakia and abroad are interested in what a victory of a non-political candidate brings to the country, as well as what is the future political fate of the current Prime Minister Robert Fico.
