Right after the official results of the presidential elections were published on Sunday morning, the newly elected Slovak president gave an interview to Radio and Television Slovakia about his current views for the upcoming electorate.
First of all, what is his plan for the first 100 days in the office?
“I will try to look for continuity and focus on selecting the priorities, which I will try to work on over the next few years.”
Does he know who is going to be among his advisors in the office? Can he name them already?
“I cannot say who is going to be on my team in the Presidential office yet, though I can name at least two specialists, with whom I plan to discuss matters in this transiently period. Those are Mr Mazak, the former chairman of the Constitutional Court, who is a very renowned specialist in his field, and then it is Mr Butora, for the questions of international politics. This is sort of my preparatory team and I would like to discuss all the problematic fields with them. After 15 June, we will see who ends up with me also in the office.”
What is his main goal to achieve in the position of Slovak president?
“First of all, I gave the promise, that I will be independent and non-partial in my decisions. Then, what I find as the most important thing is returning public confidence to the presidential palace. I want the people to believe that the president took this position because of them and that the president is there to support each and every decent citizen.”
And what does he see as the three worst problems of recent day Slovakia?
“We could speak about jurisdiction and corruption, but for me the three most crucial problems are the stagnating economy, which makes young people leave the country. If we manage to bestir the economy and we have job opportunities, well then we need a good education system to prepare our young people for these positions. I see the third problem in our health care system, as today people are afraid to get sick and end up in hospital. The healthcare system is in a terrible condition.”
The incoming president Andrej Kiska will be sworn in on 15 June, when leftist incumbent Ivan Gasparovic's second term ends. Andrej Kiska claims that he won’t take the presidential salary, neither that he will need personal security or the official presidential residence.
