BBC News reports that the Slovakian government suffered a humiliating defeat at the polls Saturday, April 3rd. Its hand-picked candidate for president, Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan, appears to have come in
third. Only the top two finishers are eligible for the runoff election.
Kukan and his government colleagues were staunch supporters of President Bush's Iraq invasion. Slovakia was one of the few countries contributing troops to the Iraq conflict.
Kukan's defeat comes soon after Spain's Prime Minister, José María Aznar — another staunch Bush supporter — was fired by the voters in his country.