The first round of the presidential election will take place on Saturday, March 21. The Slovak Spectator put several questions before all seven candidates for the position of President of the Slovak Republic and is publishing their detailed responses.
The candidates are: Ivan Gašparovič – incumbent president and candidate of two of the three ruling parties, Smer and the Slovak National Party (SNS); Iveta Radičová, candidate of three opposition parliamentary parties, the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ), the Christian Democratic Party (KDH) and the Party of Hungarian Coalition (SMK); František Mikloško, candidate of the opposition party Christian Democrats of Slovakia (KDS); Zuzana Martináková, candidate of the non-parliamentary liberal party Free Forum (SF); Milan Melník, candidate of one of the ruling coalition parties, the Movement for Democratic Slovakia (HZDS); Dagmar Bollová, an independent candidate and former PM from the Communist Party Slovakia (KSS); Milan Sidor, the endorsed candidate of the Communist Party Slovakia (KSS).

The Slovak Spectator (TSS): In what ways do you consider the position of president of Slovakia important? What is the core of the president’s role, in your opinion?

Ivan Gašparovič (IG): The president is the supreme constitutional functionary, whose powers are clearly defined by the constitution. The president should be a stabilising element on the political scene and he should rather connect than divide the society with his consensual activities.

Iveta Radičová (IR): The president has many possibilities in actively functioning within the society. Justice, the state’s stance towards the family, representation of the country, convergence of political rivals, creating space for public discussion about issues we need to solve. I have never well-withstood wrongs committed on weaker people. The president of the republic has a real chance to become an advocate for all people, and if necessary, to also be the corrector of wrongdoings.
I am convinced that Slovakia is a good place to live.
However, this does not mean that we don’t need to progress further, to bring peace and harmony into public and political life, to contribute to a constructive atmosphere when solving big and small human troubles and sorrows; this is a good agenda for the head of state.
To bring forth serious issues, to contribute to the search for solutions, and to help pressure them through; I have been working like this all my life and I intend to continue it.
The office of president embodies the authority of the state; the personality of the president gives it its content. The frequency and content of the execution of these powers depends directly on the personal contribution and nature of the individual president, so they cannot be underestimated.

František Mikloško (FM): The position of president is the final firm point in case of any crisis.

Zuzana Martináková (ZM): The president should represent us abroad; at home, he or she should be active in solving people’s problems.
The second basic task is a dignified representation of Slovakia abroad. I often have said that when a president disembarks from a plane abroad, it is Slovakia that is disembarking.People abroad form their opinion of us, as Slovaks, also from the politicians who we elect to lead us, from the impressions they make, how they communicate, what signals they give, how they behave. A president should represent all generations of Slovaks in a dignified way, including the young generation which has been at the bottom of the interest of political parties.
Slovakia is a beautiful, modern and educated country, so its first representative should be the same.

Milan Melník (MM): Within the current extent of powers stipulated by the Slovak Constitution, the president has an extraordinarily crucial role in the position of a “mediator” of society.
He should unify society, help remove the causes of political antipathies, he should eagerly bring up important social, political, and economic issues in the cabinet and in parliament, and, of course, he should be an active part of foreign diplomacy. The times when the president was just a mere representational puppet and just one of the persons signing laws have been long since gone.

Milan Sidor (MS): In Slovakia’s case, too, the president is the supreme representative of the state. He or she represents our country to the outside world. He gives – or can give – it new dynamics, a higher degree of sovereignty in international relations.
So far, as a middle-small European country, our partners often tend to disregard us, because in the international context the opinion has ever more strongly prevailed that, even though there are individual votes, the biggest powers have the biggest influence on decisions.

Dagmara Bollová (DB): For foreign countries, the president must be the epitome of the country’s and the nation’s uniqueness, the symbol of pride and respect towards traditions.
At home, the president should be the creator of the vision for the future, to show the way and lead our society towards it.

TSS: Does the Slovak presidency have enough powers? If not, in what ways should they be enhanced?

IG: The strongest power of president is that he nominates the prime minister and cabinet who then implement the actual policies.However, the president can also influence citizen’s lives through his decisions about laws passed by parliament. During my whole term, I put stress primarily on respect for the Slovak Constitution and on what impact individual laws do have on citizens.The power of the president also is in concluding foreign treaties, which I consider vital. My predecessor left this privilege to the government; I took it back. And I may well say that many agreements had to be adapted due to my comments.
There is also the very important role of the president as representative of the state abroad.
Of course, he has to coordinate his positions with the government and foreign affairs minister, and it is well-known that we have not always agreed on everything in the past, but we have always found common solutions.
To speak about strengthening presidential power a few weeks before the election would probably not be right. But for the future, I can imagine – especially due to the character of direct vote by citizens – the strengthening of some of the president’s powers.

IR: Certainly, there are spheres in the execution of presidential powers which are not sufficient or are not sufficiently worded; but I consider it much more important to actively use the possibilities that the Slovak Constitution already offers the president.
It means not extensive, but rather intensive execution of the presidential office. This means that president’s positions and decisions, even in cases when he or she does not act, have a huge moral weight and social impact. For me personally, the idea that presidential powers are also moral imperatives for the head of this state is an enormous challenge.
Every step by the head of state may have the character of precedence; the decisions bear the huge potential of normforming with sweeping and sometimes hardly foreseeable results.
What additional authority would I like most as president? In Slovakia, the president is directly elected by citizens, and thus he or she has a strong mandate from citizens. I think that the president’s powers could be enhanced in putting forth factual proposals, that is, the possibility of direct legislative initiatives, which MPs, parliamentary committees and the government have now.

FM: The Slovak president has few powers, but they are sufficient for him to shape the life in Slovakia.

ZM: The position does not make the person, but the person makes the position. Even with the current authorities and powers, the president can play a crucial role in the country.A passive president gives the impression that he or she does not have any powers; an active one can fully use the mandate given by citizens.
However, after the election, the presidential powers should be reconsidered. The president acquires a strong mandate, as he or she gets a much higher number of votes than, for instance, a party which gets five to six percent of the votes in a parliamentary election.
I am a great supporter of parliamentary democracy and I would not flirt with any presidential system, but the president could get back at least the power to co-decide on ministers.
It would be good if the president did not have to accept the prime minister’s proposal to nominate a particular minister.