On 15 June, Zuzana Čaputová was sworn in as the new President of Slovakia.

Čaputová, one of the founding members of the ALDE Party member party Progresivne Slovensko (Progressive Slovakia), is the first female leader of the country. She was elected president on 31 March, after defeating Maroš Šefčovič, Vice President of the European Commission, in the second round of the election. She obtained 58.4% of the vote.

In her inauguration speech, Čaputová emphasized the decisive role that Slovakia plays in Europe and the importance of the European Union.

“As the European Union is our life and value space, the North Atlantic Alliance is our defense and security pillar. We must, as a country, do all we can to preserve and strengthen this space and its pillars”, Čaputová said. “Europe, also with our participation, should become a long-term leader in the reversing of several global threats, like the climate crisis”, she added.

Čaputová’s victory is a positive sign of liberal forces rising in Slovakia and Central Europe. This great success was further boosted in the European elections, where the pro-European coalition formed by Progressive Slovakia and SPOLU topped the results with 20.11% of the vote. The ruling party SMER-SD became second with 15.72%.

Earlier this month, the Progressive Slovakia and SPOLU announced that they will run together as a coalition for the parliamentary elections to be held in March 2020 the latest.

https://twitter.com/ZuzanaCaputova/status/1139931155585798144?s=20