1ST LEAD: Slovak premier backs incumbent on election day

 Slovak premier backs incumbent on election dayPrague  - Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico Saturday threw his support behind presidential election front-runner President Ivan Gasparovic as Slovaks voted for their new head of state.

Campaigning has been banned in Slovakia since Thursday morning, but Fico made the remarks in the neighbouring Czech Republic capital Prague.

Speaking to a congress of the opposition Czech Social Democratic Party, Fico said that any elections - be they for a party leader or a president - call for continuity at a time of the economic crisis.

"The fight against the crisis requires a choice for resolute and proven leaders. There is no time for any personnel experiments," he told the delegates.

At a subsequent press conference, Fico reiterated his presidential choice: "Presidents are picked by citizens. I would be glad if they chose President Gasparovic."

The premier also praised the role of welfare state and slammed right-wing policies to counter the downturn. "We shall not yield to the charms... offered to us for the fight with the crisis by the right," he said.

The Slovak presidential election is likely to turn into a duel between Fico's center-left government and the embattled right-wing opposition.

Gasparovic's chief rival, runner-up Iveta Radicova, is a joint candidate for the right-wing opposition which introduced unpopular belt-tightening pro-market reform, boosting country's troubled economy by luring in foreign investment.

News from the Czech Republic is widely available in Slovakia. The two Central European countries formed a common state for 75 years until peacefully separating in 1993. (dpa)

General: 
Political Reviews: 
People: 
Regions: