Slovakian PM faces scandal before election

The biggest political scandal in Slovakia's 17 years of independence put Prime Minister Robert Fico under pressure as he goes into a general election today.

Mr Fico was in trouble after a newspaper published an alleged recording of him speaking about shady sponsors of his party and bragging about how he raised almost three million euros "using my own brain".

Mr Fico said the recording was fake and filed a lawsuit against the SME daily's editor-in-chief but experts said it might take months to prove whether the recording was fake or real.

The head of the Social Democratic (SMER) party was also in the news over reports that he gave €17,000 from emergency funds for flood relief to a fitness model, who used the money for her personal coach, clothes, food and having her nails and hair done.

Mr Fico has had a hard time throughout the campaign as Slovaks collected some €60,000 to pay the popular cartoonist, Shooty, for billboards caricaturing the Prime Minister.

The ruling coalition has taken a battering over the aid intended for the floods two weeks ago which killed three people and forced thousands in the east and south of the country to flee their homes.

The government promised help but the opposition accused the coalition of squandering all emergency money before the end of its four-year term.

Parliament promised to add about €4 million that parties were supposed to get after the election to the €25 million flood aid. But that gesture was overshadowed by reports of Mr Fico's gift to the model.

With support falling for the Social Democrats and its allies, the Slovak National Party (SNS) and People's Party LS-HZDS, Mr Fico cannot afford to lose more votes as he seeks a second term.

While Mr Fico's party still has about 30 per cent support, a poll published by the Focus agency on Thursday showed that opposition parties including the liberal SDKU-DS and Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) parties, the Christian Democrat KDH and two ethnic Hungarian parties SMK and Most-Hid could win a parliamentary majority.

The Social Democrats may not be able to extend the current coalition as the People's Party and the SNS are close to the five per cent of votes threshold to get a seat in Parliament.