Slovakian antigovernment protesters take to the streets on Feb. 3, 2012, in Bratislava
Analysts expect the March 10 parliamentary elections in the euro zone’s second poorest country to end the rule of the four-party, center-right coalition led by Prime Minister Iveta Radicova. It recently cut growth forecasts for the export-reliant economy and faces a 13.6% jobless rate. The 150-seat contest could return former Prime Minister Robert Fico’s Direction-Social Democracy Party to power. “If Fico’s second premiership resembles his previous term in office, then it could herald a change in the emphasis of Slovak foreign policy as Bratislava casts a cooler eye on Washington and adopts a less confrontational stance toward the E.U.,” notes the Center for European Policy Analysis. Reuters predicts any new government will struggle to cut the fiscal deficit to below the E.U.’s 3% limit in 2013 as pledged.