Tag: Robert Fico

With around 97 percent of the votes counted, the 45-year-old lawyer's tally stood at 58.3 percent of the vote in Saturday’s runoff against European Commission Vice President Maroš Šef?ovi?. "Perhaps we thought politics was only a sign of weakness, and today we see it as a sign of strength," she told jubilant supporters in Bratislava. She had convincingly won the first round of the election, two weeks earlier, with more than 40 percent of ballots cast, more than double that of her opponent. Most of the protesters held Fico’s government and his SMER party indirectly responsible for the killings. The subsequent investigation has discovered links between the man now charged with ordering the murders, Marian Ko?ner, and prominent politicians and officials. ?aputová’s victory is cause for celebration for pro-EU and democratic forces throughout Central and Eastern Europe, as well as in Brussels. She told POLITICO in an interview a few days ahead of the result: “My main focus is to bring about change in Slovakia, and for Slovakia to be a reliable and predictable partner of the European Union.” ?aputová also said that her win could embolden anti-corruption activists and liberals across the Continent. “Obviously in the EU but also, more broadly, in Europe, developments in one country influence events in other countries and can have an inspirational effect,” she said. Michal Repa, her chief election strategist, said there is a yearning in the country for a fresh approach. While the role of Slovakia's president is largely ceremonial, ?aputová has said that she intends to be very active in ensuring justice for all Slovaks in reinforcing the independence of the public prosecutor’s office and in the naming of judges.