Hungarian Card Shakes Presidential Election Campaign in Slovakia

rsi, RSI

A president who plays the Hungarian card, brings unrest among citizens, and divides the society, is not and may not be the president of the slovak Republic, said opposition presidential candidate Iveta Radicova. She thus reacted to allegations in the daily SME that an advertising agency working for incumbent head of the state Ivan Gasparovic ordered an advertisement in a regional weekly which claims that Ms. Radicova wants autonomy for Hungarians living in Slovakia. Ms. Radicova further pointed out that not just the upcoming presidential elections, but a peaceful coexistence of Slovaks and all minorities living in the country are at stake.

According to the president’s spokesman Marek Trubac, neither President Gasparovic or his election team are authors or initiators of the leaflets in question. Therefore he sees no reason for the president to react to Ms. Radicova’s call. The text of the advertisement in question is based on the leaflets that appeared in southern slovakia on Friday aiming to discredit opposition presidential candidate Iveta Radicova. They carried a photo of Ms. Radicova from her election billboards, a logo of her party and a text in Hungarian which read: Dear Hungarians living in slovakia, if you vote for me and we will succeed, I promise to support your old aspirations for autonomy.

[30. 03. 2009]