GUGSP
© 1997, 98
Miro Sedivy |
GUGSP News Archive: 26 Jan - 01 Feb 1998
A summary of the most important events in the Slovak politics in the 5th week of the year 1998.
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MONDAY 26 Jan 1998
The three Hungarian parties will probably fuse into one "Party of the Hungarian Coalition", if the conditions in the parliamentary elections request it. The new election law, still not processed by the government would probably ask to all political parties in a coalition to get 5% at least to enter to the Parliament - instead of some 7% for the whole coalition. The new Party of the Hungarian Coalition, currently being registered, may believe in having 10% of the Slovak voters.
The Slovak National Party (SNS) proposed, as one of its possible candidates for the new Slovak President, the current Slovak Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar. The SNS vice-leader Anna Malikova said, that he was still not the official candidate, but very probable. However, Meciar should be proposed by his own movement. If he is proposed, there's still one very important legislative problem. A Prime Minister may be elected a new President, but only after being recalled from his Prime Minister's place. If there's no President, the Prime Minister cannot resign, so he cannot be elected for a new President.
The coalition still would like to modify the Constitution in certain points, mainly in the issue of the power of the President, still before the new Parliamentary Elections.
The Party of the Democratic Left (SDL) led dialogue with the Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS) last week. SDL was established in 1990 from KSS, and refused most ideals of this 40-years leading party. SDL refused also all ideas of making a coalition with KSS now.
One flight of the first Slovak astronaut on the Russian spaceship MIR will cost more than 12 million USD (~45,000 average monthly salaries in Slovakia). It should bring great experience to the Slovak army and science. However, isn't it too expensive and useless?
TUESDAY 27 Jan 1998
The government met today on its 151st regular session. Although it "still tries" to find a communication with the mass media, the most popular private TV Markiza couldn't get any information from the session.
Tomorrow, the 40th parliamentary session begins with one point - will two "illegal" deputies Jan Belan and Ladislav Hruska leave the Parliament and let the place to the "legal" deputies Frantisek Gaulieder (excluded from the Parliament against his will) and Emil Spisak (he had to succeed the deceased deputy because of the number of votes).
On Thursday, the 39th parliamentary session begins with the first round of the election of the President.
The Interior Ministry still did not receive an official demand to the development of a new election law. However, the Interior Minister Gustav Krajci admits, that the law could be changed anyhow, as they still did not decide whether to modify all important points concerning the number of vote districts, form of counting votes for a coalition etc.
The Interior Minister Gustav Krajci announced, that he already succeeded to find and arrest the "announcer" of the possible attempted murder of the Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar. Most opposition politicians do not suppose this whole affair as a serious, mainly after several similar attempts of Vladimir Meciar to attract the attention.
The Hungarian Coalition with its eighteen deputies will vote for the presidential candidate of the Slovak Democratic Coalition - Stefan Markus. Although none of the current three candidates will be elected for the President in the first round, it is interesting to mention, that Stefan Markus is absolutely the first presidential candidate since the Slovak republic exists (1993), who has never been in the Communist Party.
The Hungarian Civic Party (MOS) protests against the parliamentary elections possibly modified by the government and its new election law, which abolishes the principle of a coalition. MOS is one of the three Hungarian Coalition parties, and will certainly not get 5% alone.
The Russian federation accepts the expansion of the European Union to the East, including the central-european countries, though it could involve many economic problems.
The Slovak President Michal Kovac, five weeks before the end of his function period, went for a six-days trip to United States.
The private radio Twist, very popular mainly because of its very good news will broadcast also in the Slovakia's second town Kosice (nearly 250,000 habitants) after a session of the Council for the Radio and TV broadcasting. There was a petition initiated by a civic society last week for the support of Radio Twist.
WEDNESDAY 28 Jan 1998
The 40th parliamentary session did not begin today afternoon, as there were not enough deputies in the main discussion room. The only issue of this session was to abolish two parliamentarian decisions on the changing the deputies. Frantisek Gaulieder (HZDS) was excluded from the Parliament against his will two years ago, and Jan Belan (HZDS) took his place. Emil Spisak (Slovak National Party - SNS) had to take the place of a deceased deputy, because he got more votes in the Elections, but Ladislav Hruska (SNS) took the place instead of Spisak. The Constitutional Court already proclaimed both deputies Belan and Hruska illegally in the Parliament. Today, several HZDS deputies standing outside the main parliamentarian room, refused to comment why they weren't in the room. The chairman of the National Council postponed the beginning of the session. He refused to inform the mass media, except of the Slovak TV, Slovak Radio and the Press Agency of the Slovak Republic, but it was said the parliament will meet again in this issue just after the tomorrow's presidential election.
The Party of the Democratic Left (SDL) declared it won't vote for Vladimir Meciar for the President in any case. The current Prime Minister is supposed to run for a presidential candidature in one of the next rounds, supported by the coalition parties. According to the SDL chairman Jozef Migas, if the coalition proposes Meciar, the answer of SDL is clear.
Several deputies of the Association of the Slovak Workers (ZRS), one of the three coalition parties, strongly criticized the work of the chairman of the Fund of the National Ownership, the deputy chairman of ZRS, Stefan Gavornik, because of his incorrect work in the privatization. It is possible some deputies will leave the deputy club of ZRS.
The Slovak President Michal Kovac continues his visit to USA, awarding several persons by the Slovak Cross of the Second Level. He will also meet the US Foreign Minister M. Albright.
THURSDAY 29 Jan 1998
So the Parliament met today to decide whether Slovakia would know its new President. Three official candidates Stefan Markus (for the Slovak Democratic Coalition), Juraj Hrasko (for the Party of the Democratic Left) and Augustin Kurek (for independent deputies) were refused, in advance, by the governmental coalition, and mainly by the Meciar's movement HZDS, which is the only political subject that can stop any presidential candidate, having 61 deputies out of 150 (90 are needed for election of a President).
The deputies met in the National Council building, and there was absolutely no representative from the Slovak government, which simply ignored this important act. Finally, after several speeches of the candidates and the deputies, 139 present deputies began to vote, they gave 130 valid tickets. Juraj Hrasko got 22 votes for, 62 against and 46 indifferent; Augustin Kurek got 14 votes for, 91 against and 25 indifferent; Stefan Markus got 34 votes for, 79 against and 17 indifferent. This means, that no candidate got the necessary 90 votes. The second scrutiny of this round will be held on 6th February, and two best candidates (Stefan Markus and Juraj Hrasko) will run for the candidature.
Vladimir Meciar's HZDS will probably support its leader for the President in one of the next rounds, but there's the problem it could loose him in the parliamentarian elections campaign, as a strong leader and a populist person. Meciar is currently supposed the unofficial candidate of the Slovak National Party (SNS). The leader of SNS Jan Slota was asked, why do they support Meciar for such an important function, if he said in summer 1996, that "The lie is the work method of Vladimir Meciar." Slota just said, that the politics is so, and that he has to do everything to stabilize the situation in Slovakia.
The Slovak Police appreciates the very good cooperation with the Slovak Intelligence Service, which helps the police to detect serious crime acts.
The Russian ultra-nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky appreciates the work of the Slovak government, and says, that it is still nearer to Moscow than to the West.
FRIDAY 30 Jan 1998
The yesterday's unsuccessful election of the new Slovak President had many negative reactions in the foreign, but also in the Slovak media. The speaker of the opposition most powerful Slovak Democratic Coalition (SDK) Mikulas Dzurinda supposes the election boycotted by the coalition deputies, but also by the government, which totally ignored this act by presence of no minister in the Parliament. According to Mikulas Dzurinda, if the President is not elected before 2nd March (there was a number 31 on the counter opposite to the President's Palace), the SDK will do everything to win elections and to initiate a direct elections of the President. The SDK will invite all parliamentarian political subjects to discuss the problem of the new Election Law.
The chairman of the National Council of the Slovak Republic Ivan Gasparovic announced three Parliamentary sessions next week. The repeated first round of the Presidential Election (with two candidates Stefan Markus and Juraj Hrasko) will be held on 6th February at 9am. And there are two sessions on Thursday 5th, the 42nd about the mandate of Frantisek Gaulieder and Jan Belan. The 43rd the same day about the mandate of Emil Spisak and Ladislav Hruska.
The Privatization Minister Peter Bisak announced, that the privatization of the national ownership should end by December 1998. The privatization of health service institutions will end in the first half of this year.
A few weeks ago, the Fund of the National Ownership (FNM) borrowed the 100 million DEM (1 Deutsche Mark ~ 0.65 USD) foreign loan, to pay out the 10,000 SKK (~300 USD) to all Slovak citizens older than 70 years. The privatization was firstly in the form of shares, but the government decided not to privatize the national ownership to the citizens, but through the FNM, while promising 10,000 SKK to all citizens participating in the privatization. The FNM sold most of the companies to the relatives of the coalition members for lower price, now does not have enough money to pay all those people, and borrows money only to pay the oldest citizens. What will they pay the rest of the population from? According to Ivan Miklos from the opposition Democratic Party, the loan the FNM borrowed has 14.4% of interest, much more than any other international financial source. Ivan Miklos declared, that the FNM seriously damaged the international market politics of the Slovak government, which does not have many chances to get a good loan now.
The United States Foreign Ministry released a Report on the year 1997. According to this report, the Slovak government still respects most human rights, but there's a problem of a recentralization of the power. The inflation is about 6%, the GDP per capita is 2800 USD. The unemployment rate moves around 13%, but in some regions, it reaches even 25%. The freedom of press is quite well, but the government controls the state media too intensively. (the full text of the Report)
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