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TV Personality Daniel Krajcer to Co-lead SaS Party Into Election
Monday 15 March 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, March 15 (TASR) - Former presenter of televised political chat shows Daniel Krajcer announced at a press conference of the extra-parliamentary Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party on Monday that he'll be one of SaS's four leaders in the run-up to the general election set for June 12.
"It's no secret that in the past various political parties have approached me with offers to enter politics. It's always been no dilemma for me, as my answer was always 'no, thanks'. I've made a different decision now, though, and accepted an offer from SaS," said Krajcer.
Krajcer went on to defend his move with three reasons. "First, SaS is the first party since 1992 that has a realistic chance of succeeding in the election and has a slate that features no candidates linked to scandals. In the call for new people in politics this is the first actual alternative," he said.
In addition, Krajcer praised the specific character of SaS's programme. Concern over the state in which Slovakia has found itself is the third reason why he has decided to run on SaS's slate.
"We'll all concur that the state of our country is not good. I don't mean the effects of the economic crisis now. I mean the overall atmosphere, the moral decline and the mega-scandals that crop up every week, and in effect nothing is being done about this," he added.
SaS chairman Richard Sulik reiterated at the press conference that under no circumstances will his party join forces with the governing-coalition Smer-SD party after the election.
The same commitment was made by delegates at SaS's first ever congress on Saturday. "We view Smer-SD as a party that is responsible for an unheard-of economic and moral decline in Slovakia, and we won't co-operate with such a party," Sulik told the congress.
He added that SaS's goal in the elections is to make it into Parliament, which means gaining at least 5 percent of the votes. The party has earmarked €300,000 for its election campaign, which will include billboards and meetings, said Sulik, formerly an aide to former finance minister Ivan Miklos as well as to his successor Jan Pociatek.
Sulik noted that his party's election manifesto is made up of 120 ideas, with individual freedom and related responsibility as its leitmotif. Touching on the party's idea of decriminalising marijuana, he said that society shouldn't make criminals out of young people that have been caught with one or two joints.
SaS currently has 216 members, 95 of which reside in Bratislava region. Sulik said that the low number of members is due to the tough criteria for joining the party, such as its ban on entry for people with a Communist past.
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