Election26: Bratislava Party Danube Presents Priorities and Two More Candidates

Bratislava, 20 November (TASR) - Martin Winkler, a candidate for Bratislava mayor and a Bratislava city and regional councillor, announced on Thursday the formation of a new municipal political party called Danube, which was registered on November 17. The party wants to run in the 2026 election primarily in Bratislava, with the ambition of fielding candidates for mayors and councillors in selected city boroughs. The first of these are Sven Sovcik as a candidate for Old Town mayor and Ladislav Mery as a candidate for mayor of the borough of Podunajske Biskupice. "Our party stands on three values, including responsibility in management, especially financial responsibility. The city should be for all Bratislava residents, not just for select groups. Another important value is to be guided by common sense, because I feel that this is sometimes not the case," stated Winkler at a press conference. The party announced that it wants to bring expertise to the management of the capital city, not marketing slogans, as well as the actual implementation of projects for people, not just talking about them. It rejects the path of tax increases and declares that it would introduce better economic management. Its programme priorities include focusing on more efficient management of the city council, significantly strengthening the city police and increasing security, improving public transport, overseeing the better construction of cycle paths and changing the city-wide parking policy. It wants to move the 'controversial' bike path on Vajanskeho Embankment closer to the Danube and restore two lanes in both directions. am/df