The March 2016 parliamentary elections in Slovakia: A political earthquake

The 2016 parliamentary elections in Slovakia brought important changes to the composition of parliament and resulted in an innovative four-party government. The leftist Smer-SD came on top but suffered substantial losses compared to 2012. It managed to form a government with three other parties, one of them representing the traditional Slovak nationalists while another being the leading representative of Slovakia's largest ethnic minority. The new coalition government downplays its internal divisions and claims it can provide stability in difficult international political situations, innovative policies in fighting corruption, and rejection of political extremism and radicalism. The opposition is fragmented and divided: it is composed of the two new radical right parties and two more moderate conservative-liberal groupings.