"Slovakia's 'Erin Brockovich' elected first female president, in rebuke of populism", 31 Mar 2019

When Slovakia's newly elected President Zuzana Caputova - the country's first ever female head of state - delivered her acceptance speech on Saturday she immediately set herself apart from the wave of populist parties sweeping Europe... Caputova is a political newbie who's anti-corruption campaign struck a chord in a country still grappling with the murder in February last year of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée... The murder - and subsequent trial of Slovak businessman Marian Kocner who was charged with ordering the killing - triggered some of the biggest protests seen in post-communist Slovakia and ultimately led to the resignation of Prime Minister Robert Fico... The killings also motivated Caputova to run for office for the very first time, calling for an end to people "pulling the strings from behind (government)"... Caputova's connection with journalist Kuciak's case began long before his death. The lawyer previously waged a 14-year legal battle with a company represented by accused businessman Marian Kocner that planned to build an illegal landfill in her home town... Caputova won the case.  During the election campaign Caputova...turned her back on issues that have worked so effectively for populist parties in neighboring Hungary and Poland, such as migrants and family values...