THREE PARTY LEADERS SIGNED AN AGREEMENT SUNDAY FOR A LEFTIST-NATIONALIST COALITION GOVERNMENT IN SLOVAKIA, AS POPULIST ROBERT FICO PREPARED TO REPLACE OUTGOING PRIME MINISTER MIKULAS DZURINDA, DPA REPORTED. FICO, WHOSE SMER PARTY DEFEATED DZURINDA'S RIGHT-WING SDKU IN AN ELECTION LAST MONTH, PRESIDED AT A SIGNING CEREMONY FOR THE NEW COALITION AGREEMENT. HE PROMISED "POLITICAL SOLIDARITY." SMER JOINED FORCES WITH THE LEFT-WING MOVEMENT FOR A DEMOCRATIC SLOVAKIA (HZDS) PARTY OF FORMER PRIME MINISTER VLADIMIR MECIAR AND THE SLOVAK NATIONAL PARTY (SNS) OF NATIONALIST JAN SLOTA. FICO CHOSE TO PARTNER WITH MECIAR'S AND SLOTA'S PARTIES AFTER REJECTING POSSIBLE ALLIANCES WITH ANY OF THE THREE CONSERVATIVE PARTIES THAT HAVE SHARED POWER IN BRATISLAVA UNDER DZURINDA'S DIRECTION SINCE 1998. FICO WAS ELECTED ON A PLEDGE TO REVERSE DZURINDA'S CONSERVATIVE TAX AND WELFARE POLICIES, WHICH HE BLAMES FOR SLOVAKIA'S HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT AND ONE OF THE LOWEST STANDARDS OF LIVING IN EUROPE. THE NEW GOVERNMENT, WHICH WILL CONTROL A SOLID 85 OF PARLIAMENT'S 150 SEATS, IS EXPECTED TO TAKE OVER THIS WEEK.
