Slovakia Leftists Heading for Big Win

Slovakia's leftist opposition appears headed toward a big win in yesterday's elections, reports the AP. With most of the votes counted, the Smer-Social Democracy party has taken 44.8% of the vote, enough for 84 of the 150-seat parliament. If the lead holds up, it will be the first outright majority held by any one party since the split of Czechoslovakia in 1993. "We succeeded with what we offered as an alternative," said Robert Fico, the Smer-Social Democracy leader early today. "We've achieved a result that is a pleasant surprise for us, to be honest."

The ruling coalition of four center-right parties earned widespread anger around Slovakia for a major corruption scandal in December, called the "Gorilla" files; documents leaked online show many leading politicians took big bribes in 2005-2006 for lucrative privatization deals. Slovakia's ultra-nationalist party finished below the 5% threshold needed for parliamentary representation. (More Smer-Social Democracy stories.)