Pellegrini: New President Should Reconcile Society

Bratislava, March 27 (TASR) – In his address on public-service RTVS, Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini (Smer-SD) has again called on people to come to the polling stations in the second round of the presidential election, TASR learnt on Wednesday.

According to the premier, the president should consider the need for a society-wide reconciliation in the country to be one of his essential tasks.

“If Slovakia should have a strong president, the president needs a strong mandate from the people. It [the mandate] will be the stronger if more people come to decide in the runoff. Therefore, I ask everybody again: Let’s come to the polls on Saturday and don’t let others decide for us,” the premier said in his speech.

The prime minister said that the new president should be a major conciliator of society. “If we are to be a cohesive and united country, we must end the division into decent and indecent or good and bad. We’re all citizens of the Slovak Republic with the same rights and duties,” he noted, adding that the president should profess values, such as strong social feeling and understanding for the problems of all groups of citizens in Slovakia.

Pellegrini said he’ll welcome if the Government gets a partner in the person of a president who will be actively involved in fulfilling priorities such as the correction of Slovakia’s reputation abroad or greater dynamics in both economic and social areas. “Then we can be even more successful, more coherent and self-confident abroad,” he said.