Caputova

At the same time, the president will ask the government to stay in office with limited powers till a new government is formed following the Sept. 30 early election, Caputova’s office later said.

Fico has also railed against the country’s liberal president, Zuzana Caputova, who sued him last month for spreading lies about her.

Caputova’s unlikely election grew out of mass protests and anger in the aftermath of the contract killing of Slovak journalist Jan Kuciak and his partner Martina Kusnirova in 2018.

Even as Slovakia’s southern neighbor, Hungary, prevaricated and transatlantic solidarity with Ukraine—a course many Slovak nationalists applauded—Caputova, suddenly head of a front-line state, stood fast.

Matovic and Caputova are scheduled to meet again on Monday.

President Caputova vowed recently to do "everything possible" to block any coalition deal with the LSNS.

Zuzana Caputova during her inauguration ceremony, June 2019.

Analysts have compared Caputova to French President Emmanuel Macron, an outsider who swept to power on a reformist agenda.

But Caputova’s sudden rise is also rooted in the country’s current turbulence.

Project manager Nora Bajnokova, 33, said she backed Caputova because "she is a woman, a mother, a lawyer and not involved in active politics", while 31-year-old voter Ivan Jankovic called her "courageous and open-minded".