Zuzana Chaputova: What do we know about the new president of Slovakia
Dmitry Kurkin
Zuzana Chaputova will be the fifth president of the Slovak Republic and the first woman elected to this position since her approval in 1993. At the last weekend election, the candidate won about 58% of the vote, ahead of his main opponent, diplomat and European Commission member Maros Shevchovich - he admitted defeat and sent a bouquet of flowers to his opponent.
In turn, Chaputova said that she was "pleased not only with the result, but also with the opportunity not to succumb to populism, to speak the truth and attract attention, abandoning the language of aggression." Speaking of populism, she seems to be referring to rapprochement with the European Union in spite of growing nationalism: while in many European countries (including Hungary, Poland and Austria), the voices of so-called Euroskeptics sound louder, Slovakia, which The second round of the election of two Euro-optimists actually voted for further integration.
While talking about a significant change in the course of the country, however, it is too early. Slovakia is a parliamentary republic, where the main power is concentrated in the hands of the Prime Minister; the president, although he has certain powers (including representing his country abroad), is considered more like a ceremonial official.
Nevertheless, the results of the March elections are largely symbolic. Hardly anybody could have predicted such an outcome a year ago. Chaputova was known in her home country, but rather as a social activist and environmental activist. Formally, it was in the liberal party "Progressive Slovakia", but this organization, registered at the end of 2017, is not yet represented in parliament and did not have time to gain political weight.
Another thing - Chaputova. Media managed to christen it "Slovakian Erin Brockovich", and the details of the politician’s biography are truly strikingly similar to the story of the heroine Julia Roberts. A lawyer raising two children after a divorce, opposed the construction of a landfill in her hometown - and after fourteen years of confrontation, she achieved her own. Chaputova is a classic example of a non-system politician, and her election as president suggests that the inhabitants of Slovakia do not trust the current government.
Chaputova is a classic example of a non-system politician, and her election as president suggests that the Slovak authorities do not trust the current government
The crisis of the political establishment began a year ago, shortly after the journalist Jan Kucyak and his bride, Martin Kushnirov, were found dead in a house near Bratislava. Neither the police nor the public had any doubts that this murder was registered. Twenty-seven-year-old Kutsyak was investigating financial frauds that were allegedly tax evasion businessmen and representatives of the country's political elite, first of all - then-Prime Minister Robert Fitso (in the last, incomplete article published by aktuality.sk, Kutsyak asserted that Fito associated with an Italian mafia syndicate).
The reaction to the death of Kutsyak in Slovakia can be compared to the reaction of Russian society to the murders of Dmitry Kholodov and Vladislav Listyev in the mid-nineties: this was the first loud custom-made murder of a journalist in the modern history of the country. Within a few days, about twenty-five thousand people took to the streets of Bratislava, demanding the immediate resignation of Fico, and soon mass protests took place all over the country - no such solidarity was seen in Slovakia since the 1989 Velvet Revolution. Fico confidently stated that he was not involved in the killings (the police consider the arrested businessman Marian Kochner to be their customer), but resigned in mid-March and his government was dissolved. According to one version, in this way he tried to prevent early parliamentary elections and gain time for his party (center-left "Course - Social Democracy").
In the atmosphere of such a clear distrust of the authorities, someone should have appeared who would challenge the ruling elite, and Chaputova became this man, calling upon the citizens to "rebel against evil." She announced her decision to run for president two weeks after the resignation of Fico, proclaiming the fight against corruption as the main goal of her program. In addition, she managed to gather around herself a liberal-minded non-systemic opposition representing various ethnic and social groups. Chaputova also promised to uphold the right of women to abortion (they have been allowed in Slovakia since the eighties) and supported the fight for LGBT rights.
Demonstration alone may not be enough. Political observers have little doubt that even before Chaputov was sworn in June, Fico and his supporters launched a campaign to discredit the president, and it would be easy for them to block, for example, initiatives to legalize same-sex marriage. In addition, her powers are limited, and the fundamental desire to be a non-party politician in the future (she promised to withdraw from Progressive Slovakia if she wins the elections) can play against her in the future. But today, Chaputova is more than a nameless official in a ceremonial office - she has become a symbol of a thirst for change, which, judging by the results of the elections, is shared by many of her compatriots.
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