*Gasparovic victory gives clues to 2010 parliamentary poll
*Backs PM Fico's leftist agenda at time of economic crisis
(Adds quotes from Gasparovic and Fico, more background)
By Martin Santa
BRATISLAVA, April 5 (Reuters) - Slovak President Ivan
Gasparovic easily won re-election for a second term, results
showed on Sunday, confirming the popularity of his leftist ally,
Prime Minister Robert Fico, a year before parliamentary polls.
Gasparovic won 56 percent of the vote in Saturday's ballot,
the Central Election Committee said, a margin of victory that
was in line with the 68-year-old lawyer's lead in opinion polls.
He defeated Iveta Radicova, a 52-year-old sociologist put
forward by the opposition, who won 45 percent of the vote in the
contest for the largely ceremonial post.
Gasparovic is close to Fico and supports his ambition to
improve the living standards of those affected by the
belt-tightening reforms of the previous centre-right cabinet, in
which Radicova briefly served as Social Affairs Minister.
"I am glad I can be standing here today with the prime
minister and the speaker of the parliament ... The (election) is
the most direct evidence that people trust us," Gasparovic said
shortly after the results were announced.
Analysts said the election was a gauge of support for Fico
and his social democrat Smer faction a year before the
ex-communist EU member state and euro zone newcomer holds a
parliamentary election.
Slovakia has not had to bail out any banks, but Fico faces
the prospect of Slovakia's first economic contraction this year
and the loss of thousands of jobs as Western demand for the
country's exports, cars and TV sets, fades in the recession.
Fico, who took Slovakia into the euro zone in January, is
trying to keep the fiscal deficit within the EU limit while
juggling reduced budget revenues and his promise to keep
expanded welfare programmes intact.
"Presidential elections are the first test for Smer and
Robert Fico ahead of the general election, this was reflected in
their engagement in the campaign," said Erik Lastic, a political
analyst from the Commenius University in Bratislava.
Analysts do not expect Gasparovic to use his right of veto
on new legislation, though parliament can overturn that veto.
In his first term, Gasparovic did not challenge the
government's main legislative agenda, such as giving more powers
to trade unions and workers and boosting pensions.
"We are looking towards another period of stability," Fico
said during a visit to Gasparovic's election headquarters.
"In hard times that are coming due to the crisis, people
will have a president who has strong social feelings and knows
what the national and state interests of Slovakia are," he said.
Analysts said Radicova's solid showing was a sign that Fico
might face tougher competition next year than the polls suggest.
"The results prove that a significant part of the electorate
voted for Radicova, and it is a signal that the opposition is
not that helpless," Lastic said.
(FACTBOX of presidential powers and candidates [])
(Writing by Peter Laca, editing by Tim Pearce)
