THE 1963 Soviet children’s film “Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors” remains a holiday classic for many central and east Europeans. Twin schoolgirls in pioneer-style kerchiefs battle a series of mirages; deceitful mirrors make it hard for them to distinguish between heroes and villains. The plot strikes a chord with many voters in Slovakia as the country gears up for a general election on Saturday. Whether they look left or right, everyone they see is tainted by corruption scandals.
The incumbent, two-time prime minister, Robert Fico, leads a social-democratic party called Smer (Direction). At home, Mr Fico is known for handouts, including 13th-month pension payments and free public transport for students and the elderly. In Brussels, his current claim to fame is a lawsuit against the European Commission, objecting to the migrant relocation quotas approved in September last year. The prime minister’s competition consists of half a dozen centre-right parties with a reputation for bickering. Their last term in government lasted just 16 months; a coalition headed by Iveta Radicova, a popular academic, crumbled in a fit of dissension over the...Continue reading
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