Main focus of Friday, June 30, 2006

A populist government in Slovakia?

Europe's newspapers watch with concern as, after Poland, another East European country sees the formation of a populist government. The Social Democratic Smer party led by Robert Fico, the HSDZ party led by former Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar and the right-wing extremist Nation Party (SNS) have agreed to form a coalition. The reformists led by Mikulas Dzurinda have been left out in the cold. Does this mean a return to the isolation of the past for Slovakia?

Pravda - Slovakia

Commentator Dag Danis harshly criticises election winner Robert Fico's planned coalition of Social Democrats, Vladimir Meciar's HZDS party and the hard-line right-wing National Party. "Let's be honest: such a government would be primitive, not only because it's led by a populist (Fico), a liar (Meciar) and a heavy drinker (leader of the National Party Jan Slota), but because the coalition Fico has chosen is highly problematic in terms of agenda, politics and the human component. The Social Democrats have no experience in government and very few people at their disposal. Compared with politicians like the current Finance Minister Ivan Miklos or Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan, they look like second or third leaguers. But this government's greatest problem is its politically and morally questionable character." (30/06/2006)

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Die Presse - Austria

"Election winner Robert Fico has chosen the easiest option for a coalition despite the fact that it could be the most difficult option for Slovakia," writes Burkhard Bischof. "Nonetheless, that which applies for other countries with experimental governments, and that Austria would have wished for from the rest of the world in the first days of its black-blue coalition, should also apply for Slovakia: that people first take the time to examine exactly what this populist alliance entails before they start hacking away at it. After all, political propagandists like Slota have found a place and still have a place in many governments of Western Europe. And anyway, the economy and investors are likely to react much more sensitively and rapidly if the new government in Bratislava plans to turn back the wheel of reform." (30/06/2006)

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Népszabadság - Hungary

Tibor Kis says a government consisting of Social Democrats, Meciar's HZDZ party and the National Party would be scandalous, adding that Meciar and Slota are notorious in Europe: "They stand for a period of domestic and ethnic tensions as well as serious conflicts with the EU, NATO and certain neighbouring countries. Hungarian-Slovakian relations reached an all-time low during Meciar's time in government." In Budapest there are fears that the protection of minorities will suffer: "The Hungarian minority in Slovakia remembers Meciar's anti-Hungarian policies well, and even most Slovaks thought Slota was an idiot when he said things like they should invade Budapest in tanks or that the Hungarians were a 'Mongolian race' that had only become European after living with Slavic peoples for hundreds of years. Now, Slota is suddenly an important government politician – a pillar of the coalition." (30/06/2006)

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Neue Zürcher Zeitung - Switzerland

Ulrich Schmid assumes that the EU will give the new Slovakian government a lukewarm reception, and with good reason, because the goverment looming in Slovakia is even worse than the populist government in Poland: "Jan Slota's SNS is far worse than Lepper's Samoobrona or the League of Polish Families, and the Smer party is a long way from having the often underrated anti-communist qualities of the Kaczynski brothers' Law and Justice Party." For liberal Slovaks, Vladimir Meciar, of all people, is the only hope. It's not entirely improbable that the old patriarch will end up falling out with Fico over the distribution of posts and sinecures. If the HZDS went over to the Liberals led by incumbent Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda, Slovakia would narrowly escape a populist coalition." (30/06/2006)

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