Pellegrini: I'll Run for President Again If I Feel Supported

(STVR, 'O 5 minut 12', 15 June) I'll run for the support of voters in the next presidential election if people show trust and support for me, President Peter Pellegrini said on STVR's discussion programme 'O 5 minut 12' (Five Minutes to Twelve) on Sunday, adding that if he feels they have a different idea, he'll reconsider his decision. "I'll take people's sentiments with great humility. If they still want me as president, I'll definitely run. If they let me know, and you can already sense this in advance, that they have a different idea, then of course I'd consider it," said Pellegrini, stressing that he doesn't want to adapt his behaviour in the next four years in order to be re-elected. "Because I might not be authentic. I have to be what I am, and either those people want it and appreciate it or they don't," he added. The head of state went on to say that he himself wonders how many working trips, negotiations and foreign trips he's managed. He thinks that his ambition to reconcile and calm the situation in Slovakia hasn't yet been fulfilled. "The tension in society, motivated primarily by politics, is still very intense and I sometimes fear that it is even worse," he stated, noting that political polarisation is becoming an official tool of politicians, but this is not only Slovakia's problem. Therefore, society shouldn't expect politicians to change their behaviour, but every citizen should contribute to reconciliation for themselves. The head of state pointed out that he's the only president to have held all three of the most senior constitutional posts. As a result, he said, he has a perfect view of how the country works and can compare the posts, highlighting that the presidential office offers him a greater perspective on what is happening in the country as well as the opportunity to influence the government. am