Matovič announces presidential candidacy despite no desire to win
Former Prime Minister Igor Matovič, who gained EU fame for allowing Sputnik vaccines to be administered, which ultimately cost him his seat, threw his hat into the upcoming presidential elections but admitted it is not his ‘dream’ and that he is doing it to mobilise pro-democratic voters to support the right candidate.
Matovič, the leader of the political movement OĽaNO (recently renamed ‘Slovakia’), submitted the signatures needed to enter the campaign a few minutes before the deadline at midnight. At Wednesday’s press conference, he assured journalists he does not intend to win.
“Don’t you worry – you are not looking at the future president now. It is not my role, nor my dream,“ he said, claiming he wants to mobilise pro-democratic voters as “there may be 100 thousand people who otherwise would not have come to the polls”.
He means to represent a choice for “a conservative voter” and “to shield” a democratic candidate: “Otherwise, Korčok would face the Mafiosi in the elections all alone,” Matovič said.
According to polls, former foreign minister Ivan Korčok is the only relevant opponent in the presidential fight to Peter Pellegrini, a former PM and Robert Fico’s ruling coalition partner.
Pellegrini, whose victory would tighten his grip on Fico’s government, is currently leading the polls, with Korčok coming in second.
Korčok’s popularity is slowly rising and has already gained the support of two liberal opposition parties, one of them being the opposition’s leader, Progressive Slovakia (PS).
Matovič’s movement in Slovakia is also a part of the Slovak parliamentary opposition. However, the other parties refuse to work with him, citing his unpredictable and destructive behaviour.
Matovič became prime minister after he won the February 2020 elections with anti-corruption rhetoric directed towards Smer, which he has been labelling as a “mafia”. However, he soon started to lose public and political support because of his chaotic style of ruling and ad hoc decisions.
Such examples are importing the Russian COVID-19 vaccines Sputnik V in Slovakia, verbally attacking media and coalition partners, or changing his mind about submitting his letter of resignation to the Office of the Slovak President at the very moment he was handing it over.
His popularity has significantly decreased since then. Today, he has one of the weakest approval ratings among Slovak politicians.
(Natália Silenská | Euractiv.sk)
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