(Bloomberg) — An ally of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was on observe to win the nation’s presidential election, which might assist cement the premier’s grip on energy.
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Peter Pellegrini, a former premier and member of Fico’s ruling coalition, gained 55.9% of the vote, whereas Ivan Korcok, a diplomat who has criticized the premier’s agenda, secured 44.1%, in accordance 88% of outcomes revealed by the statistics workplace on Saturday. Slovakia’s two main newspapers known as the race for Pellegrini.
The presidential victory would ease Fico’s path to approving laws and appointments of key public officers. Since returning to energy final 12 months, the Slovak premier has triggered public criticism and scrutiny from the European Union for his selections to curb the combat towards corruption, suppress impartial media retailers and oppose EU and NATO allies over army assist to Ukraine.
Pellegrini, as a parliamentary speaker, performed an important position in pushing by way of the judicial overhaul. Throughout his marketing campaign, Pellegrini accused Korcok, who advocated for supporting Kyiv, of wanting to tug the nation into warfare.
Zuzana Caputova, the present officeholder and standard-bearer of Slovakia’s anti-corruption motion, moved to cease a few of Fico’s extra controversial proposals. She submitted his contentious criminal-law overhaul in February to the nation’s high court docket, which has but to difficulty a ruling.
Pellegrini succeeded Fico as prime minister in 2018, when the Slovak chief was pressured to resign amid mass protests following the killing of a journalist investigating corruption within the EU member state.
Amid the general public outrage, Pellegrini left Fico’s Smer social gathering and led his personal group, generally known as Voice, in final 12 months’s parliamentary election. He joined Fico’s coalition in October, three months after he advised Bloomberg that couldn’t think about “sitting collectively in the identical authorities” with the Smer chief. He campaigned with a extra EU-friendly agenda, supporting army help to Ukraine. However after Fico’s victory, he deserted these positions.
Pellegrini started his political profession in 2002 as an assistant to a Smer’s lawmaker. He was elected a member of parliament in 2006, and since then, his ascent throughout the political sphere has been notable. He acted as a deputy finance minister, training minister, parliament speaker, deputy prime minister for funding, and prime minister.
His trajectory, marked by almost twenty years of unwavering allegiance to Robert Fico and Smer social gathering, earned him amongst his critics the moniker of a “yes-man.”
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