THE SPLITTING OF THE SLOVAK LEFT Postmark Prague, News of the Czech and Slovak Left No. 368 (Vol.12, No.9) * E-Mail edition No.1 * SEPTEMBER 2002
by Czech journalist Zden�k Ho�en� Further splits on the eve of the September 20/21 parliamentary elections are very typical of the political scene in Slovakia; it means that in a country of five million people almost thirty parties will contest the elections. Even ex-prime minister Vladim�r Me�iar's Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (MDS) has not proved immune to the influence of such a fixed star in the Slovak political firmament. Three months before the elections his opponents in the MDS have formed a new rival party called the Movement for Democracy * One in five It seems, however, that schism �sickness" has taken its heaviest toll on the Slovak Left, represented by the Party of the Democratic Left (PDL) which was formed at the beginning of the 1990s and included most of the membership of the former Communist Party of Slovakia, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia's territorial organisation in the Slovak part of the then federal socialist state. Now, however, after several splits only the torso remains of this once strong party, supported by one in five Slovak voters, and on September 21 it faces the threat that the doors of parliament will be closed to it (because it will poll less than the 5% of the votes necessary to qualify for representation in parliament - translators note). * Revolution dropped For the Slovak Left this is literally a catastrophe which many - for the most part rightly - associate with the name of Peter Weiss, once among the most popular of Slovak politicians. One of his fatal mistakes was �to turn his coat" and derail a revolutionary party so that it ended up on the platform of the Socialist International. The PDL's Marxist wing was the first to resist his move to the right when they decided to refound the original party based on a programme which retained the goal of a socially just society. The refounded Communist Party of Slovakia (CPS) began literally with nothing in terms of material assets, but today it operates in every region of Slovakia, although for the time being it is not represented in the Slovak parliament. Later the PDL's working-class wing broke with Peter Weiss and his right-wing politics and at one time even became part of a government coalition, unfortunately with suicidal consequences. Most recently the Left has experienced two more traumas, when Robert Fico, a leader of its young generation, founded a new political party called Smer (�Direction") and in the spring of this year Weiss went on �a political ramble" by forming the Social Democratic Alternative. * Fico Two months before the elections, however, the only Left element being given any hope of success is Robert Fico, who is reaping the benefits of his sharp criticism of Mikul�s Dzurinda's coalition government, which includes the Party of the Democratic Left where he began his political career. His demand for a change in the atmosphere of collapse surrounding the government's economic and social policy has even made him one of the favourites to change the guard at the forefront of Slovak politics. But . But - for reasons which are not openly discussed - it seems to those knowledgeable about Slovak politics that, judging by his latest slogans, Fico has under various pressures, especially from abroad, shifted his ground from the Left to the centre of the political spectrum, which is, according to the press, bringing him strong support, even from the NATO camp! This is sad news for the Slovak Left: this Weiss-style �turning of his coat" has borne bitter fruit, since every schism weakens it. >From �svit (�Dawn"), fortnightly paper of the CP Slovakia: DO YOU KNOW YET WHO'LL YOU VOTE FOR? UNDER COMMUNIST GOVERNMENTS UNTIL 1989 � no.of unemployed: 0 � price of a new 3-roomed flat: 27,000 Czechoslavak crowns (CzK) � free healthcare and medicines � all enterprises and their profits belonged to the people � cooperative farms prospered, providing people with work � young married couples could get cheap loans � workers and schoolchildren could travel at special cheap rates � people building their own houses could get non-repayable CzK 150,000 loans � education was free from basic school to university � state-regulated prices prevented citizens from being robbed � monthly pay of the chairman of a town council: CzK4,500 � monthly pay of an enterprise director: CzK7,500 � monthly pay of a parliamentary deputy: CzK1,500 � price of a lunch or dinner in a university canteen: CzK2.60 � monthly rent at a university hostel: CzK11-50 � there were day nurseries in every town � fare from Humenn� (E.Slovakia) to Prague: CzK90 � crime was minimal and drugs and prostitution virtually unknown � school textbooks and other aides were free � monthly rent for a 3-roomed flat: CzK450 � under socialism politicians, and our cows, were normal UNDER �DEMOCRATIC" GOVERNMENTS AFTER 1989 � no.of unemployed: 560,000 � price of a new 3-roomed flat: 1.35 million Slovak Crowns (SKK) � healthcare and medicines must be paid for � enterprises and their profits belong to individuals � the Christian Democrats broke up the cooperative farms and fields are uncultivated � the state abolished loans for young marrieds � the state has virtually abolished cheap fares for workers and pupils � the state has abolished house-building grants � the government has approved a bill introducing charges at universities � the state no longer regulates prices, shops can charge what they like � monthly pay of a town mayor: SKK60,000 � monthly pay of an enterprise owner: SKK200,000-950,000 � monthly pay of a parliamentary deputy: SKK56,000 � price of a lunch or dinner in a university canteen: SKK40 � monthly rent at a university hostel: SKK600-1,200 � fare from Humenn� (E.Slovakia) to Prague: SKK1,200 � nearly all day nurseries have been closed down � fear rules the streets of our towns and villages, with murders committed in broad daylight and prostitution and drugs spreading � monthly rent for a 3-roomed flat: c.SKK4,500 � under �democracy" politicians and our cows have gone mad A bid by 46 Slovak MPs on July 10 to ban �the propagation of communism" was opposed by President Schuster. He refused to sign the amended Penal Code and returned it to parliament for re-examination. Slovak Communist leader Jozef Svec was defiant. Writing in �svit under the headline Who fears the Communist Party of Slovakia?, he told the amendment's authors and supporters, who included Peter Weiss and Democratic Left MPs (see p3): �The people are waking up, losing their fear and looking to the communists to defend them. Gentlemen, we are not afraid of your law. We will go among the people with the truth about you and your deeds." Living standards, he said, were 35% lower than in 1989, with over 700,000 of 5 million Slovaks living below the poverty line. �Mass pauperisation in towns and villages coincides with a rise in the number of millionaires living an ostentatious petty-bourgeois life style, gadding about in luxury cars and taking luxury holidays." The matter was discussed again in the Slovak parliament on Aug.19. This time 63 MPs supported the amendment, but it was not enough. Under the Slovak constitution an absolute majority of all 150 MPs was necessary if the amendment was to become law. The anti-communists were 13 short of the 76 votes needed. mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Serbian News Network - SNN [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.antic.org/
