Progressive Slovakia Maintains Poll Lead Despite Banking Scandal as Smer Closes Gap

Progressive Slovakia (PS) has retained its position as the most popular political party with 19.7 percent voter support, according to a new Ipsos poll released Friday, despite recent revelations about fraudulent bank transfers within its affiliated Project Forum association. The ruling Smer-SD party finished a close second in the survey. The Focus polling agency conducted its May preference survey between May 7-11, a period following the publication of reports about suspicious banking transactions within the Project Forum organization. Many observers, including PS politicians themselves, had been closely watching whether the banking scandal would damage the opposition party's standing with voters. The poll results suggest that despite the controversy, PS has managed to maintain its lead in voter preferences, while Smer has narrowed the gap between the two parties.