Slovak opposition party makes U-turn to start coalition talks

Slovak centrist party Siet (Net) will negotiate with leftist prime minister Robert Fico on forming a government, it said on Sunday, reversing its earlier position and increasing Fico's chances of retaining power.

Siet’s decision together with a similar turnaround by another opposition party could help overcome a post-election stalemate and give Fico a parliamentary majority.

Fico (51) campaigned against allowing in any large numbers of migrants from the Middle East and beyond, and has sued the EU over a decision to relocate hundreds of asylum-seekers to Slovakia.

His centre-left Smer, which ruled in 2006-2010 and again since 2012, won the most votes at last weekend’s inconclusive election but lost its parliamentary majority. Initially, other parties’ stances had given him slim chances of forming a government by a March 18th deadline given by president Andrej Kiska.

Slovakia, a euro zone country, holds the European Union’s rotating presidency in the second half of the year, which will give it a larger voice in formulating the EU agenda including migration and the aftermath of Britain’s vote on whether to leave the EU.

Siet and the Most-Hid party changed their mind after the Slovak National Party (SNS) decided to negotiate only with Fico, burying the chances of a centre-right majority that would have included the libertarian Freedom and Solidarity party.

“We need to negotiate with Smer, SNS and Most-Hid to find the best scenario for Slovakia,” Siet deputy leader Andrej Hrnciar told journalists.

Leaders of Smer, SNS, Most-Hid and Siet were expected to meet on Monday to discuss policy priorities for a cabinet that would have 85 votes in the 150-seat parliament.

Fico’s Smer party lost 34 of its current 83 seats in the election as voters responded to opposition campaigning against corruption and shortcomings in healthcare and education, while taking the same line on immigration.

Part of the anti-immigrant vote went to the People’s Party-Our Slovakia, which others see as neo-Nazi and refuse to deal with.

Allegations of graft and cronyism linked to most traditional parties also spurred surprising gains by two other centre-right protest movements -- ‘Common People’, and ‘We Are Family’, formed by businessman Boris Kollar who ran under the slogan “You can trust me, I’m not a politician.”

Those movements would have to be part of any centre-right government. The Slovak National Party dismissed them as untested and unreliable as partners. – Reuters