Slovak President Asks Corruption Fighter to Form New Government

(Bloomberg) -- Slovakia’s president asked anti-corruption crusader Igor Matovic to form a government after his party triumphed in elections at the weekend.

Propelled by anger at the killing of an investigative reporter two years ago, four opposition groups -- led by Matovic’s pro-Western Ordinary People -- won an unexpectedly large parliamentary majority. They prevailed after graft allegations damaged the ruling Smer party.

“I believe that the representatives of all these parties understand the gravity of their responsibility because we really need a strong, legitimate and new government soon,” Zuzana Caputova said after meeting Matovic on Wednesday in the, capital, Bratislava.

The election leaves Slovakia rooted in Europe’s mainstream -- heading off the risk it could deviate along the rebellious paths of neighboring Hungary and Poland and eliminating any chance of a far-right group joining the government. It comes less than a year after voters in the European Union and euro-region member elected their first woman president in a rebuke to nationalist and euroskeptic forces.

There are question marks, however, over the durability of the likely new government because of potential policy and personality clashes. The four parties won 95 of parliament’s 150 seats -- enough to change the constitution.

Matovic sought to play down concern over differences.

“The four party programs are 90% identical,” he said Tuesday. “We’ll easily find an agreement.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Radoslav Tomek in Bratislava at rtomek@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrea Dudik at adudik@bloomberg.net, Andrew Langley, Peter Laca

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