Zuzana Caputova, favourite in the second round of the Slovakian presidential election

Zuzana Caputova (Progressive Slovakia, PS) easily drew ahead in the first round of the presidential election organised on 16th March in Slovakia. She won 40.57% of the vote, distancing herself from Maros Sefcovic, the Vice-President of the European Commission, responsible for Energy, who is backed by the party presently in office in Slovakia, Direction-Social Democracy (SMER-SD), taking 18.66% of the vote. The two candidates will face each other in the second round of the election on 30th March. We might recall that Robert Mistrik, supported by Freedom and Solidarity (Sloboda a Solidarita, SaS) and Together-Civic Democracy (SPOLU) withdrew from the race on 26th February last to everyone's surprise - in support of Zuzana Caputova. "In any other Central European State, it would be inconceivable to see a politician of conservative conviction relinquishing his place to a woman with progressive liberal ideas," wrote the Slovakian daily SME.