Slovakia's president said Monday he will ask leftist Prime Minister Robert Fico, who won weekend elections but lost his parliamentary majority, to try to form a coalition government.
"I have decided, after the first round of talks, to entrust the chairman of the Smer party, which won the most votes in the elections, with the formation of a government and a majority coalition, which would back such a government," President Andrej Kiska announced.
Results from Saturday's elections showed Fico's Smer-Social Democrats (Smer-SD) party had won 49 seats, down sharply from its comfortable 83-seat majority in the 150-member parliament.
The liberal Freedom and Solidarity SaS came second with 21 seats, followed by the conservative OLANO-NOVA which took 19 seats.
But two far-right nationalist groups made spectacular gains, giving them a potential role in determining the stability and lifespan of the future government.
The Slovak National Party (SNS) made it back into parliament after a four-year absence with 15 seats, while LS-Nase Slovensko (Our Slovakia) led by Marian Kotleba secured 14 seats to enter the assembly for the first time.
"We will have in parliament radical political extremism in uniforms," Kiska said Monday, in a reference to Our Slovakia, which is considered neo-Nazi by some analysts and whose members dress in navy blue military-style uniforms.
The rise of the far right has spurred dismay among mainstream parties and political commentators, as well as soul-searching about the cause of their success.
"We need to dramatically increase confidence in the country... We need a government and an opposition able to convince people that they do not have to take part in the election as a protest," Kiska said Monday.
He added that he will begin talks with all chairmen of the eight political parties elected "except for Mr. Kotleba".
Fico dubbed the outcome a "big mishmash" of parties and announced the start of exploratory talks with other mainstream parties about forming a coalition.
But the SaS said it would reject any alliance with Fico, a populist who campaigned on a fiercely anti-refugee platform.
Slovakia is gearing up to take the EU's rotating presidency from July -- a role that will put the health of its democracy in the world's spotlight.
Slovakia’s president said Monday he will ask leftist Prime Minister Robert Fico, who won weekend elections but lost his parliamentary majority, to try to form a coalition government.
“I have decided, after the first round of talks, to entrust the chairman of the Smer party, which won the most votes in the elections, with the formation of a government and a majority coalition, which would back such a government,” President Andrej Kiska announced.
Results from Saturday’s elections showed Fico’s Smer-Social Democrats (Smer-SD) party had won 49 seats, down sharply from its comfortable 83-seat majority in the 150-member parliament.
The liberal Freedom and Solidarity SaS came second with 21 seats, followed by the conservative OLANO-NOVA which took 19 seats.
But two far-right nationalist groups made spectacular gains, giving them a potential role in determining the stability and lifespan of the future government.
The Slovak National Party (SNS) made it back into parliament after a four-year absence with 15 seats, while LS-Nase Slovensko (Our Slovakia) led by Marian Kotleba secured 14 seats to enter the assembly for the first time.
“We will have in parliament radical political extremism in uniforms,” Kiska said Monday, in a reference to Our Slovakia, which is considered neo-Nazi by some analysts and whose members dress in navy blue military-style uniforms.
The rise of the far right has spurred dismay among mainstream parties and political commentators, as well as soul-searching about the cause of their success.
“We need to dramatically increase confidence in the country… We need a government and an opposition able to convince people that they do not have to take part in the election as a protest,” Kiska said Monday.
He added that he will begin talks with all chairmen of the eight political parties elected “except for Mr. Kotleba”.
Fico dubbed the outcome a “big mishmash” of parties and announced the start of exploratory talks with other mainstream parties about forming a coalition.
But the SaS said it would reject any alliance with Fico, a populist who campaigned on a fiercely anti-refugee platform.
Slovakia is gearing up to take the EU’s rotating presidency from July — a role that will put the health of its democracy in the world’s spotlight.
