Slovak President meets party leaders on coalition

By Peter Laca

BRATISLAVA (Reuters) – Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic met
leftist leader Robert Fico on Monday and was expected to ask
him to form a coalition government after his Smer party won an
election but fell short of a majority.

Fico, whose party will have 50 places in the 150-seat
parliament, has vowed to break with the radical economic
reforms implemented by the centre-right government of Prime
Minister Mikulas Dzurinda over the last eight years.

The result of Saturday’s election reflects a trend across
the region where voters are sending a clear message that the
speed of change, once justified by the lure of European Union
membership, has faded after accession to the bloc in 2004.

Fico, a 41-year-old lawyer, faces weeks of tough
negotiations on forming a coalition. Dzurinda, whose
centre-right party won 18.4 percent of votes, may yet have a
chance to stay in power if Fico fails.

“We are waiting to begin (coalition) negotiations after
meeting the president. We are going to invite all parties for
talks, which will most likely take place toward the end of the
week,” Smer deputy chairman Robert Kalinak said.

The talks are likely to decide the fate of reforms which
won plaudits abroad and transformed the landlocked nation of
5.4 million people into one of Europe’s fastest-growing
economies, but left unemployment high and proved painful for
many.

They could also determine whether Slovakia adopts the euro
single currency in 2009 as planned.

PRESIDENT MEETS OTHER PARTIES

Gasparovic was expected to formally invite Fico to start
coalition talks after completing meetings with leaders of six
other parties on Monday.

Fico has signaled he will try to woo two centre-right
parties traditionally allied to Dzurinda, rather than approach
fringe groups such as the far-right Nationalist Party which
came third with 11.7 percent of votes.

Fico vowed on Sunday to respect Slovakia’s target of
adopting the euro in 2009, but said he would not hesitate to
revise the goal if he feels it is not in the country’s
interest.

He has pledged to restore social benefits, end medical user
fees and abolish the flat tax system to draw more heavily on
wealthier firms and individuals who capitalized on the reforms.

Investors, who favor Slovakia’s swift entry into the single
currency area, are concerned about the risk of a delay. But
Slovak bonds and the crown currency were little changed on
Monday despite uncertainty about the coalition scenarios.

Foreign investment and wages have risen under Dzurinda, but
Fico cashed in on discontent with high unemployment — now 11
percent — and healthcare and pension reforms that cut
benefits.

Smer will have 19 more seats in parliament than Dzurinda’s
Democratic and Christian Union, which will have 31.

Dzurinda, eastern Europe’s longest-serving leader after
eight years at the helm, could keep power if Smer cannot form a
coalition and the president then ask him to form a coalition.