Slovakia’s Matovic: European countries’s Mr Ordinary makes for energy

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«that are you? » It had been a unique opening gambit for just what ended up being 1st international television meeting aided by the guy that is probably be Slovakia’s next minister that is prime.

However it is a fair one.

We know little by what Igor Matovic thinks about anything beyond the corrupt techniques of some of their countrymen, so Czech Television’s rolling news community had been straight to ask it.

Analysts are referring to an era that is new Slovakia after outbound Prime Minister Robert Fico’s leftist SMER had been defeated by this maverick anti-corruption activist and his Ordinary People celebration, otherwise called OLaNO.

The truth is, the first choice associated with the people that are ordinary is certainly not ordinary.

«for quite some time we lived a comfy life being a businessman that is successful. In reality I had dig this been having to pay the greatest fees of any entrepreneur in Slovakia, » he stated, since the red, white and blue flags of Slovakia fluttered behind him contrary to the backdrop of Bratislava Castle.

«But during the exact same time we actually resented the fact the income ended up being most likely winding up in a banking account someplace in Cyprus. «

Therefore in 2007 he chose to signal their media that are regional over to their spouse and enter politics.

Exactly just How Matovic produced title for himself

He founded Ordinary People as an initiative that is civic 2010 and ended up being sworn in being an MP – using white pants, sandals and a T-shirt – the exact same 12 months, initially for the centre-right Freedom and Solidarity celebration.

With his rhetorical flair and newsman’s instincts, their PR stunts were headlines that are soon making.

To aid a referendum on restricting MPs’ immunity he deliberately parked their vehicle on a pedestrian crossing in the center of Bratislava; the digital digital cameras filmed him showing their pass that is parliamentary to authorities who have been called to tow it.

Being an MP, he could not be prosecuted.

Into the 2012 elections, now looking at their own since the relative head of OLaNO, he took a lie-detector test to show he had perhaps perhaps not accepted bribes, and demanded his other applicants do exactly the same.

A few declined, saying it had been insulting. He passed, in addition to ongoing celebration won 16 MPs.

But he reserved the majority of their ire that is creative for Prime Minister Fico and SMER, the celebration which had dominated Slovak politics since 2006 plus one he saw while the mind of a hydra of corruption that has been slowly choking Slovakia.

• Putting a life-sized cardboard cut-out of Mr Fico, keeping an indicator saying «Donated Slovakia to your Rich», on to the floor of parliament
• Along side celebration colleagues, erecting tents in a vineyard owned because of the minister that is prime camping here instantaneously
• Shooting himself from the French Riviera outs

Mr Matovic and their peers stuck indications towards the fence reading «Property for the Slovak Republic». The movie was viewed 170,000 times on YouTube.

Is he a politician that is serious?

Stunts like these might have received him labels such as «joker», «maverick» and «populist», but he’s got succeeded in attracting severe, reputable visitors to join him.

«It really is a position that is completely different you’re in opposition with something similar to 6-8% of this vote, so when you may be the top of the governing coalition, » stated Jaro Nad, previous senior official in the Slovak defence ministry and today certainly one of OLaNO’s 53 newly elected MPs.

«Even 2 or 3 weeks hence, once the very first polls began to show you could immediately see in Igor’s face that now he feels responsibility, and that now we will see a different Igor Matovic, » Mr Nad told the BBC by telephone that he might be in a position to win the whole general election.

OLaNO’s complete name is people that are ordinary Independent Personalities. But Mr Matovic may well not also function as the many colourful character in his or her own federal government.

What kind of federal government could he lead?

One potential romantic partner, Boris Kollar, leads a celebration called we have been Family – a declare that may hit some voters as literally real, simply because he’s got thus far fathered an overall total of 10 kiddies with eight various ladies.

We have been Family is one of the Identity and Democracy team, the alliance of nationalist, right-wing and Eurosceptic events in the European Parliament.

France’s far-right frontrunner aquatic Le Pen had been fast to tweet her congratulations to Mr Kollar. If he does enter the Matovic government, it could be an appealing couple of years.

Mr Matovic is 46 – the exact same age as Slovakia’s President, Zuzana Caputova.

The liberal Slovakia that is progressive party once assisted to lead narrowly neglected to enter parliament, and Mr Matovic’s coalition will probably be more conservative because of this.

Truly you will see concerns within the way by which he shall simply take Slovakia. The united states’s lovers – both the EU and its particular periodically truculent neighbors within the alleged Visegrad team – are certainly interested.

«as a representative of similar trends, » Grigorij Meseznikov, one of Slovakia’s leading political analysts, told the BBC because he will be the leader of a mostly conservative ruling coalition, Budapest and maybe Warsaw will welcome him.

«But i am maybe perhaps not Igor that is sure Matovic be happy if Slovakia is dragged into some disputes that Slovakia did not cause. «