Public fury at corruption thrusts 'Slovakia's Erin Brokovich' into poll lead

FILE PHOTO: Zuzana Caputova, Slovakian presidential candidate, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Bratislava, Slovakia March 4, 2019. REUTERS/Radovan Stoklasa

BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - A year after the murder of an investigative journalist blew apart Slovakia's politics, a lawyer and anti-corruption campaigner has suddenly surged into the lead to become president on a wave of popular fury at graft.

Zuzana Caputova, 45, was given the nickname "Slovakia's Erin Brockovich" by fellow lawyers for leading a gruelling fight against an illegal landfill in her hometown, with echoes of the plot of a film that won Julia Roberts an Oscar.