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Slovakia: Pellegrini wins presidential election
Around 4.4 million Slovak voters were called upon to elect a new head of state in a runoff election. One presidential candidate is Peter Pellegrini. photo
© Denes Erdos/AP
Almost all ballot papers have been counted. The liberal Korcok can no longer catch up with the Social Democrat Pellegrini – Korcok is already admitting defeat.
Korcok admitted his defeat to journalists in Bratislava and congratulated Pellegrini on his victory. The TASR news agency quoted the liberal former foreign minister, whom the liberal and conservative opposition parties had also supported in mass protests against the government, as saying that he was “disappointed and disillusioned.”
During the election campaign, Pellegrini campaigned with the slogan “Slovakia needs calm” to overcome the deep domestic political divide in the EU and NATO country, which borders Ukraine to the east. Korcok, on the other hand, promised to form a counterweight to the left-wing nationalist government under Prime Minister Robert Fico. Korcok advocates decisive military support for Ukraine, while Pellegrini urges caution when it comes to arms deliveries, also referring to the position of Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Similar to Germany, the head of state in Slovakia primarily has a representative role. But the president’s word carries great weight in public. In the event of government crises, he can temporarily set up a government himself, as last happened around 2023.