Europe's Populists Set for Setback in Slovak Presidential Race

An election in the heart of the European Union’s increasing populist eastern wing is poised to deliver a different kind of anti-establishment triumph.

Sandwiched between Poland and Hungary -- perennial thorns in the side of Brussels officials -- Slovakia is set to pick as president an NGO lawyer who backs EU integration, vows to fight nationalism and wants to rebuild a system skewed to favor politicians and their cronies.

Zuzana Caputova’s rise has been rapid. A year ago, her biggest claim to fame was stopping a well-connected businessman from building a landfill in Slovakia’s wine country. Now, polls indicate the 45-year-old will comfortably win Saturday’s ballot and will also prevail in a likely runoff two weeks later. She’s trouncing the pro-Russian populist candidate.

Her victory would be a marked departure from the governments in Warsaw and Budapest, which the EU accuses of trampling over democracy and the rule of law.

“Uniquely for the region, a liberal is leading polls by a wide margin,” said Otilia Dhand, senior vice president at Teneo Intelligence in Brussels. “But support has less to do with her ideological leanings and more to do with the fact that she represents a clear break from what voters perceive as corrupt and ineffective political elites.”



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