Igor Matovic has spent the past decade assailing Slovakia’s establishment and distancing himself from traditional politicians. Now the self-made millionaire is poised to become the central European nation’s next prime minister.
In an unexpectedly strong showing, Mr Matovic’s anti-corruption Ordinary People party stormed to victory in this weekend’s parliamentary election, putting it on course to oust the leftwing populist Smer party that has dominated Slovak politics for the past 14 years. His party won a quarter of the vote, up from 11 per cent in 2016, by tapping into the deep anger in Slovak society triggered by the murder of a young investigative journalist two years ago.
“We wanted to reach the 2m people who had lost faith in politics,” Mr Matovic said, as it became clear Ordinary People was on course to win. “We take this result as a request from people who want us to clean up Slovakia.”
Mr Matovic’s surprise win was a sign of how shaken Slovak politics were by the murder of Jan Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kusnirova in 2018. The brutal contract killing triggered the biggest protests in Slovakia’s independent history, forcing Smer’s veteran leader Robert Fico to resign as prime minister and helping the liberal activist Zuzana Caputova to win the presidency last year.
The aftershocks affected the campaign. Leaks from the murder probe revealed allegedly widespread links between businessmen, politicians and judges, keeping corruption at the forefront of the political debate.
He’s hard to put in one box. He’s a campaigner. A champion against corruption. Clearly there was a strong current in society that wanted change and he has been able to attract a large section of them
Mr Matovic tapped into the angry public mood. In January, his party was polling in the single digits but an unorthodox campaign punctuated by colourful antics helped catapult him to the front of a fragmented field.
In one stunt, he filmed himself slapping signs reading “Property of the Slovak Republic” on the fence of a luxury villa in Cannes owned by a former Smer minister. Videos of the escapade have received hundreds of thousands of views online.
When a nationalist politician appeared drunk during a parliamentary debate, Mr Matovic brandished a sign reading: “He’s smashed.” He also once parked a caravan with a sign reading “Fico defends thieves” in front of parliament.
Beyond his focus on fighting corruption, however, Mr Matovic’s politics are harder to define. Ordinary People’s members range from the liberal to the deeply conservative. Mr Matovic was first elected to parliament on the ticket of a liberal party in 2010, before falling out with its leadership.
“Ordinary People is pro-EU and pro-Nato and anti-Putin, and in this respect I don’t expect a divergence from the path Slovakia has been on,” said Michal Vasecka of the Bratislava Policy Institute. “[They] might show greater animosity to the [social] values of western Europe.”
“He’s hard to put in one box,” said one diplomat. “He’s a campaigner. A champion against corruption. He’s seen as a maverick . . . Clearly there was a strong current in society that wanted change and he has been able to attract a large section of them.”
The 46-year-old’s critics say his unpredictable style and lack of a clear platform beyond fighting corruption means any government he leads is likely to be unstable. “Matovic is like an unguided missile,” said Raul Rodrigues, a voter in Partizanske in central Slovakia. “It’s really hard to get an agreement on anything with him. I cannot imagine him as prime minister.”
Olga Gyarfasova, senior research fellow at the Institute for Public Affairs in Bratislava, said that Mr Matovic was essentially a populist. “It starts with the name of the party: Ordinary People,” she said. “He wants to portray himself as the . . . voice of the people.”
Mr Matovic’s supporters said criticism of their leader stemmed from his willingness to tackle uncomfortable truths. “Matovic is a very good person who tells the truth. He is never quiet,” said Tomas Sudik, a candidate for Ordinary People. “Some people might not like it, but the truth always wins.”
Mr Matovic, who ran a regional newspaper business before going into politics, said he would open coalition talks with the centre-right For The People party of former president Andrej Kiska, the liberal SaS party, and the populist We are Family group of Boris Kollar. Between them, they would be able to command a constitutional majority.
The parties’ differing outlooks mean that talks may not be straightforward. But Milan Nic, from the German Council on Foreign Relations, said a deal is likely.
“This result is an earthquake. The centre-right has been completely realigned and this is the beginning of the era of Igor Matovic,” he said. “We had expected a fragmented parliament, but we have a leader with a strong mandate. It may take time, but he will form a coalition.”
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
