Slovak president taps populist Fico to form new government

(ANSA-AFP) - BRATISLAVA, OCT 2 - Slovakia's president on Monday tapped the leader of the left-wing populist Smer-SD party Robert Fico to form a new government in the NATO and European Union member nation. "The task of the head of state is to respect the result of democratic elections and at the same time to ensure the proper functioning of our constitutional bodies," Zuzana Caputova said before the ceremony in the capital Bratislava. (ANSA-AFP).