GUGSP
© 1997, 98
Miro Sedivy |
GUGSP News Archive: 02 Feb - 08 Feb 1998
A summary of the most important events in the Slovak politics in the 6th week of the year 1998.
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MONDAY 02 Feb 1998
The regular coalition discussions of the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), Slovak National Party (SNS) and Association of the Slovak Workers (ZRS) was held today in the Governmental Office. The SNS leader Jan Slota said for the Radio Twist, that the novelization of the Election Law will be soon proposed in the parliament. It includes also the proposal of just one vote district in the Slovak Republic, instead of current eight, even if the ZRS deputies won't accept it.
Slota said that the Agriculture Minister Peter Baco will probably leave his office still before the end of the function period of the President Michal Kovac (last 28 days). The Social Affairs Minister Olga Keltosova should leave her office too, and she will be named the Slovak Ambassador to the United Nations after 2nd March. The current President refused to send her to New York already, but now the government will do so when the President leaves.
Jan Slota said also, that the coalition won't change its opinion in the case of the deputy mandates of Emil Spisak and Frantisek Gaulieder, and that they will even ask the Constitutional Court whether the Democratic Union got legally to the Parliament, Yeah, there was a big political issue still in 1994, when the coalition was not sure, whether the new-formed Demoocratic Union, with its over 10% of votes in the Parliamentary Elections (10% ~ 350,000 citizens) has got legally the obligatory 10,000 signatures... And the coalition is going to ask it now again...
If it is still not enough, the SNS leader Jan Slota mentioned, that the US Foreign Minister Madeleine Albright said to the Slovak President, that the Slovak republic is a black hole in the world map. O.K., I won't cite Jan Slota's reaction...
The Interior Minister calms the public, announcing that they are searching for all possible persons interested in the attempted murder of the Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar, who had to be killed by the 25th February. When asked, why such a serious crime has been announced to the public, he said, that the citizens are helping them by giving useful information on people interested in the murder...
The opposition deputies investigated at the Interior Ministry, and they learnt, that there's no new election law prepared. The Slovak National Party leader Jan Slota said, that it will be presented on the next Parliamentary session...
One of the Slovak Democratic Coalition leaders, the chairman of the Democratic Party, Jan Langos had a serious car accident on the road Nitra - Bratislava on Sunday evening. An unknown animal ran into his car Skoda Favorit, and he crashed into the railing. He should be out of the life danger, with broken rib.
TUESDAY 03 Feb 1998
The President Michal Kovac will deliver the Report on the Status of the Republic in the Parliament tomorrow. He will go to Japan for one week since 6th February, to participate at the opening of the Winter Olympic Games in Nagano.
On today's Parliamentary session, the Hungarian Coalition deputy Erno Roza began to speak in Hungarian language, and then he asked the Chairman of the National Council, whether he may speak Hungarian in the Parliament. He argued, that according to the Constitution and international treaties, he should be allowed to speak his own mother tongue, but the Parliament decided, that he cannot speak Hungarian in the Slovak Parliament. The Hungarian Coalition deputies will ask the Constitutional Court whether they may use their language in the Slovak Parliament.
Miroslav Maxon, the new Finance Minister has been replaced by the HZDS deputy Blazena Pavlovicova in the Parliament, and another colleague Michal Baranik took his function of the chairman of the Parliamentarian Committee for Finances.
The Culture Minister Ivan Hudec accused the Council for the TV and Radio broadcasting, because they decided last week, that radio Twist may transmit also on the Eastrn Slovakia. This Council decided about this in an election, 7 members were for, 1 against, 1 did not vote, and the Minister thinks they manipulated the election.
Many pharmacies in Slovakia will be closed tomorrow, going on strike, because the insurance companies do not pay them money correctly.
According to the inquiry held by Institute for Public Affairs (IVO) in January, about 6.5% of the population older than 18 years think, that the new President will be elected still before the September Parliamentary Elections, 14.3% admit such possibility, 32.3% do not think so, and 25.9% are really sure about the non-election of the new President before September 1998. 21% of the inquired persons did not know.
WEDNESDAY 04 Feb 1998
The President of the Republic Michal Kovac delivered his last Report on the Status of the Republic in the Parliament. His over one-hour speech did not interest the coalition deputies who slowly left the room, even none of the Ministers were present. After the speech, several coalition deputies criticized the speech, mentioning, that even the opposition deputies applauded only twice, that the President was not objective, that he always cooperated with the opposition. However, these deputies refused to listen the President's speech.
The President's son Michal Kovac jr., has been arrested on the border line between the Czech republic and Germany, when wanting to enter Germany to speak on the court. Michal Kovac jr., involved in the important finance transactions of the Slovak company Technopol was searched and an international warrant has been issued. In 1995, he has been kidnapped and discovered in a nearby village in Austria. Last year, when he wanted to leave Slovakia to come to a German court, he has been taken a passport. His father, the Slovak President amnestied him a few weeks ago, so that he could go to Germany. Today, the police arrested him very seriously on the Czech-German border in Rozvadov, now he's in a cell, and he'll speak on the court tomorrow.
The 41st Parliamentary session continued today. The majority of deputies refused to discuss the law which would pay the money to all participants in the coupon privatization older than 60 years. Now, the citizens older than 70 years should receive 10,000 Sk (~300 USD) this year, all the rest within a few years later. The Party of the Democratic Left deputy L. Ftacnik asked, where will the current governmental coalition, if it wins the September Parliamentary Elections as it wants, where it will find the necessary 33 billion SKK (~1 billion USD) to pay money to all citizens, if it already had to borrow 100 million DEM only for those older than 70 years. The HZDS deputy Tomas Cingel was unable to answer seriously. The 41st session continues tomorrow.
After the meeting with the Slovak President, the U.S. congressman Christopher Smith said, that the Slovakia's main problem is not its President, but its Prime Minister. He believes the elections will be correct and the democracy wins, which will be the most important in Slovakia's entrance into NATO.
The European Committee will request Slovakia to hold fair and democratic presidential, parliamentary and communal elections this year, effective participation of the opposition deputies in all parliamentarian committees and more freedom for the use of minority languages.
Vladimir Meciar, in one of his older TV monologues, said, that he received a letter from the pope about some Slovak priests. Jozef Moravcik from the Democratic Union said today, that Meciar did not say the truth, but even he believes now to what he said. According to Moravcik, this is a very special sign of the Prime Minister's paranoia. Although it doesn't seem real that the pope would write him a letter, the deputies will request Meciar to show them the letter.
The four adepts for the first Slovak astronaut flied today to Moscow. One of them will fly to MIR spaceship maybe in the beginning of the next year.
THURSDAY 05 Feb 1998
The result of both the 42nd and the 43rd today's sessions was, that the deputies did not accept two important issues. Frantisek Gaulieder, who has been excluded from the Parliament against his will and succeeded by Jan Belan, won't return back to the Parliament. And Emil Spisak, who had to succeed one deceased deputy, but another candidate of the Slovak National Party Ladislav Hruska took his place won't come to the Parliament.
Anton Poliak, the deputy of the coalition party Association of the Slovak Workers, and the chairman of the Parliamentary committee for Mandates and Immunity, left his party and also his committee function, and will remain an independent deputy in the Slovak Parliament. The main reason of his decision were right these two issues.
The regular Hour of Questions and Answers in the Parliament was without the Prime Minister, who is apparently ill. According to the information of his ministers, he seems to have problems with eyes, a small vein burst in his eye. He even did not participate at the Tuesday governmental session. Well, the vice-chair of the government and former Finance Minister Sergej Kozlik answered to the questions. Normally, the Prime Minister has a 15 minutes limit, and the first question was about the construction of new houses in Slovakia. As there were more questions, maybe more unpleasant to the Prime Minister, Sergej Kozlik talked without pause whole 15 minutes about the construction of the houses, highways, tunnels, bridges, just not to allow deputies to speak. They saw him off by whistling.
The regular HZDS meeting in the Bratislava-Pasienky sport hall was without the Prime Minister. The remaining speakers, such as the former Finance Minister, or the current Culture Minister couldn't make such effect, but there was a group of young Bratislava students, enjoying the atmosphere and singing songs. The speaker said, that they were organized from the outside, and that a banner has been found with anti-meciarist slogans. When the students were leaving the hall, the pensioners began to fight them and one student has been transported to the hospital.
There are currently serious problems with the pharmacies, many of them go on strike because the insurance companies do not pay them. The Health Care Minister Javorsky said, that there are 1300 pharmacies in Slovakia now, and there were 560 in the socialism era before 1989. Maybe this means, that the Health Care Minister thinks, that it was enough before???
The Parliament accepted the novelization of the Devise Law. It means, that any Slovak citizen may purchase as many foreign money as he wishes. Until now, there was a 60,000 Sk (~2,000 USD) limit per year per citizen, before it was even less than 10,000 Sk per year. Certainly many of you remember what people had to do when they wanted to go abroad before 1989...
The Slovak Foreign Minister Zdenka Kramplova accepted the presence of foreign observers at the Parliamentary elections in September 1998.
FRIDAY 06 Feb 1998
The second scrutiny of the first round of the Presidential Elections was not successful. Two most preferred candidates from the first scrutiny Stefan Markus (Slovak Democratic Coalition - SDK) and Juraj Hrasko (Party of the Democratic Left - SDL) did not receive enough votes to be elected for the second Slovak President. There were 37 votes for Stefan Markus, 80 against and 37 refrained. Twenty-four deputies voted for Juraj Hrasko, 64 were against, and 41 refrained. There are 90 votes needed for the successor of Michal Kovac, who will end in 24 days. The second round should be held within 30 days.
Hans van der Broek, the Commissar of the European Union for Foreign Relations said, that Slovakia belongs to the European Union, but it still has to respect many conditions. He's looking forward to the results of this year's three elections.
Commenting the last President's Report on the Status of the Republic, the Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar said, that it's not necessary to comment it three weeks before the President's functional end. However, the government will analyze all acts, that harmed Slovakia and its interior and foreign politics.
The Slovak Democratic Coalition promised, that one of its first steps after successful Parliamentary elections will be the initiation of the direct Presidential election.
The Slovak President Michal Kovac will participate at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan. He will also watch several sport exhibitions of Slovak sportsmen.
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