Slovak Premier Fights Slide in Presidential Election Race
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Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico will have to overcome his toughest challenger in a bid to fortify his grip on power by winning the presidency as his popularity shrinks after a failure to boost job creation.
The premier, who controls a parliamentary majority through his Smer party, will face independent Andrej Kiska in a March 29 runoff after the businessman-turned-philanthropist came second in the first round two weeks ago. With no opinion polls published between the two ballots, the ex-businessman is favored by odds makers at the largest Slovak betting company, Nike sro.