Slovak Democrats-Ludo Kanik Pulls out of Election, Will Support SaS

Bratislava, March 1 (TASR) – Ludovit Kanik and his party Slovak Democrats-Ludo Kanik will support Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) in the March 5 Parliamentary election, announced Kanik at a press conference in the Parliament on Tuesday.

Kanik announced during a pre-election debate on public broadcaster RTVS on Monday that he and his party have pulled out of the upcoming general.

“The party we are supporting is SaS. We picked a party whose programme is the closest to us, whose programme we deem the best, alongside ours,” explained Kanik.

According to Kanik, there is no fishiness in SaS’s funding. “There are no oligarchs in its background,” said Kanik.

Kanik explained that they have decided for this step because they don’t have enough voters’ support and they don’t want votes for them to go in vain. “We won’t be among those who would cause the disappearance of votes and thus endanger the result of centre-right parties,” said Kanik.

When asked whether he has posts promised for him and his people in the case SaS is in the government, Kanik said that they haven’t discussed the issue with SaS. “It is premature to speculate,” said Kanik. He called on people to go to the polls and vote.

Kanik said he and his party wants to continue in its functioning, by getting involved in regional or municipal elections. Kanik emphasised that the party wasn’t set up to see the right-wing crumble; rather, it wants to pursue its unification.

Kanik made such a step prior to 2002 election with his Democratic Party (DS), when he pulled out of the election in favour of SDKU of Mikulas Dzurinda. In the second Dzurinda government, Kanik became the Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Minister (2002-05), later was replaced by Iveta Radicova in the minister’s chair (2005-06).