PRAGUE (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th January, 2020) The far-right People's Party - Our Slovakia (ĽSNS) has growing chances to emerge victorious in February parliamentary elections in this Central European country, a survey by the Focus polling agency showed on Thursday.
According to the poll, the ruling center-left Direction - Social Democracy (Smer-SD) still remains the front-runner, with 18.6 percent of respondents backing it.
Yet, the far-right ĽSNS party, which now enjoys the support of 13.6 percent, is narrowing the gap with its rival.
The coalition of liberal parties "Progressive Slovakia" and "Together" comes third with 10.5 percent.
Six other smaller parties are on course to cross the 5-percent threshold to get seats in parliament.
The ĽSNS party portrays itself as the successor to the pro-fascist Slovak People's Party that ruled the country during World War II. The party campaigns on anti-Roma and anti-Muslim platforms. In addition, it opposes Slovakia's NATO membership. This party is mainly popular with people living in small towns and rural areas.
ĽSNS first won seats in parliament in 2016, gaining 14 mandates in the 150-member legislature.
In the spring of 2019, the prosecutor general's office called for ordering the far-right party's dissolution, citing its "extremist views with fascist tendencies." The Supreme Court turned down the plea, deeming evidence provided by prosecutors as insufficient.
"If Smer-SD fails to mobilize all its voters and some of them start looking for an alternative, then the extremists from ĽSNS may win the upcoming February 29 parliamentary elections," the head of the Focus agency, Martin Slosiarik, said in a statement, broadcast by national tv.
The poll was conducted from January 10-14 among 1,100 people across Slovakia.
