Radičová emphasized the complex political atmosphere that accompanied Zuzana Čaputová during her mandate: “The President had to appoint five governments. None of her predecessors experienced that, it was such a stormy period, plus the political instability.” According to Radič’s opposition, she went beyond the rules of decent behavior: “President Čaputová was labeled as an American agent, a Soros agent… that was already disgusting enough, because this is not about, I leave aside the fact that she is a woman, about gender equality, which in itself is a presumption that should not apply but here it was already an attack on an institution, on the institution of the president.”
Radičová pointed out that Čaputová had not only a positive reception abroad, but especially the trust of citizens. “I remind you that for a long time, almost for most of her term of office, she was the most trusted politician in Slovakia,” she stated.
According to the former prime minister and sociologist, there is a strong tendency towards authoritarian government in Slovakia. “Among citizens in Slovakia, the attitude and demand for a certain type of autocratic government, i.e. the government of a firm hand, is very strongly represented,” she stated. “The well-known thesis is that the winner takes all. There is about 40% of citizens, a hard core that calls for and wants such a model of democracy, that is so tired of the Democrats after thirty years that it prefers any peace and stability to any government that will be unstable and chaotic, and this feeling has been accentuated and multiplied by the recent period,” she added.
With scraped ears, but we will survive
He looks to the future of Slovakia “with huge concerns about the form of democracy in Slovakia. I clearly see here the emergence of elements of autocracy with the non-negligible support of the majority of the citizens of the Slovak Republic, but at the same time it is a challenge to the pro-democratic forces not to give up. We’ve survived swordsmanship, we’ll survive this too. Maybe more with scratched ears and a little more unhappy, but we’ll survive.” he concluded.
