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Csaky: SMK Will Almost Certainly Stand in Election Alone
Monday 28 December 2009 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, December 28 (TASR) - It's nearly 100-percent certain that the ethnic-Hungarian SMK party will contest the general election due in June 2010 on its own, SMK leader Pal Csaky told TASR on Monday.
The final decision, which will be made by the party's national council, is expected in early March. "As far as I know moods and views within the party, I find it highly likely that SMK will go on its own, just as in all past elections, rather than in a coalition," he stated.
Things are different when it comes to local elections, however, as SMK intends to continue to join coalitions for these.
Despite some of the latest public opinion polls indicating that voter support for SMK is only slightly above the 5-percent threshold needed to win seats in the House, Csaky is sure that the party will make it into Parliament.
The best insight is provided by the three elections that have been held in Slovakia in 2009. "Our results in all these elections were better than expected, that's why I'm saying that survey results need to be taken with a pinch of salt," added Csaky.
Csaky called SMK a stable and calm party that counts on its specific and positive relationship with the ethnic-Hungarian community. At the same time, he denied that SMK will become more radical in the run-up to the election, while cautioning that the election campaign will see some politicians playing the Hungarian card, with the Slovak National Party (SNS) most likely to resort to this.
"They've got no other agenda. They're the most corrupt political party in Slovakia and have created the most problems related to corruption for this governing Coalition. They need a pretence so that Slovaks won't notice their thefts, and that's why they need primitive nationalism," said Csaky.
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