Slovak nationalists with own presidential candidate

The co-governing Slovak National Party will present its own presidential candidate in the 2019 elections, announced Parliamentary Chairman and party chairman Andrej Danko on Saturday at a press conference, following a broader Presidium session in Oponice, western Slovakia. Danko was no more specific than this, merely stating that he knows of "people with charisma who'd be good candidates". At the same time, Danko confirmed that the SNS, featuring in a coalition with Smer-SD and Most-Hid in the national Government, would run alone both in the presidential elections and also in the municipal elections in late 2018.
While Danko one day after the regional elections in early November described the party's performance as a success with some negative elements that needed to be analysed, in Oponice he announced that some dozen district party chiefs will be replaced in January. Also on Saturday, Defence Minister Peter Gajdoš joined the party as a member. Until Saturday, he had been at the helm of the ministry as a Slovak National Party nominee.