Things are going better

TWO key votes for the ruling partners of Smer – the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) and Slovak National Party (SNS) – failed to pass yesterday.

The parliament, in which a majority of MPs belong to the ruling coalition, failed to elect a new chairman of the National Memory Institute (ÚPN) although it was expected that the SNS candidate, lawyer Adrián Kucek, would succeed.

In the votes on 15 candidates for the post of Constitutional Court, current Justice Minister Štefan Harabin, who was nominated by HZDS leader Vladimír Mečiar, also did not receive enough votes to be elected.

Both votes were held in the form of secret ballots and both will be repeated today.

In the new vote on the ÚPN director, Kucek will face the second most successful candidate from the first round, Ladislav Bukvszký, who is currently working as the head of the ÚPN archives.

In yesterday’s elections for Constitutional Court judges, eight of the planned 15 candidates were elected. The remaining seven should be elected today. Those elected include current Constitutional Court justices Ľudmila Gajdošíková and Lajos Mészáros, Supreme Court justices Peter Brňák and Sergej Kohut, current Constitutional Court advisors Alexander Fuchs and Ladislav Orosz, lawyer Marianna Mochnáčová and university teacher Peter Vojčík.

[10/20/2006 2:59:37 PM]

http://www.slovakspectator.sk/clanok_tlac.asp?cl=24923&rub=

Vlado Meciar undermining the coalition just after 100 days... a taste of things to come...

Older and not wiser

A very interesting short from the state news agency SITA on what Vlado Meciar the merry crook dinosaur has said about his participation in the coalition...




"HZDS: We Want What Belongs to Us The governing-coalition HZDS party is dissatisfied with its position in the governing Coalition, Hospodarske noviny daily reports. HZDS chairman Vladimir Meciar has already provided hints about the possible consequences of this. HZDS MPs have shown their disagreement with the state budget proposals for 2007. In addition, according to Meciar, even the Cabinet's tax reforms will not be approved in Parliament.

First of all Meciar's party failed to receive the top posts it wanted, now the party's regional members are unhappy about the slow pace at which regional posts are being allocated. "Many of our people had to leave their posts very quickly in 1998 (when Meciar's HZDS-led government lost power). They want to come back now," said HZDS MP Milan Rehak. On the other hand, HZDS's coalition partner, the Slovak National Party (SNS) appears to be satisfied with the way power has been allocated. "

Not a bad summary very close to my own view

Not a bad summary very close to my own view
http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?ID=16759

"...European economic elites, who fear that Fico will undo some of the neo-liberal reforms introduced under Dzurinda, have also condemned the (governing coalition) partnership.

The trans-Atlantic connection, which was very strong after US President George W Bush’s visit to Bratislava last year, has gone strangely quiet. Fico made it clear in his campaign that pulling Slovak troops out of Iraq was one of his highest priorities. This has become a reality, as the upcoming rotation of Slovak troops will be the last despite pleas from Washington for their continued commitment.

Doubts aside, the new coalition has confirmed its commitment to its international obligations. And although Slovakia is withdrawing its troops in Iraq, Fico has pledged to continue to help rebuild Iraq by other means. Fico also has promised Brussels that his government would continue with reforms, including plans to adopt the Euro by 2009.

So for now, it seems that 100 days is not enough to determine what effect Fico's coalition of strange bedfellows with have on Slovakia's future, as the internal political power struggles continue to play themselves out.

Slovakia has been touted as a model of democratic reform for former Soviet satellite states. A stable rise in GDP, increasing wages, falling unemployment and continuing foreign investment signify success. However, internal political developments since the June elections have set Slovakia on a path that is not altogether clear.

Smer, which means "direction" in Slovak, should live up to its name. Arguably, Slovakia must mature and not be so easily swayed towards the extreme by following populist parties. The hope is that Fico will be able keep a watchful eye on Meciar and Slota, keeping their negative influence to a minimum while continuing to implement vital reforms and uphold international commitments.

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Zachary Wieluns is a Slovak-based writer. He has a BA in History from Colby-Sawyer College in New Hampshire and an MA in Euroculture from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author only, not the International Relations and Security Network (ISN)."

Harabin, the mafioso-friendly justice minister

UPDATE - Harabin has ceased to be in this position of minister of justice, the new minister is a woman and a fairly normal choice.
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Would you buy a used car from this man? Stefan Harabin defender of the Mafia
(in the photo he is reaching for his gun as part of a media management move...)

Well fair is fair, when there are some disturbing developments in Bratislava in terms of corruption which is my major worry for the country we must point them out. The good news is that corruption usually is easily fixable afterwards and does not derail the direction the country has taken with EU accession.

Despite being very bad reputationally and in terms of the political climate, petty to medium strength corruption of jobs for the boys and dodgy contracts will not destroy Slovakia and some of them existed within the Dzurinda government too (Odious ANO party being a case in point). That does not mean to say its hermless or good...

The major representative of Vlado Meciar (populist and drunkard extraordindaire) in Fico's government is the justice minister Stefo Harabin. He is a rather odd figure, and certainly very pro-mafia. I suppose after Fico refused the Slovak Intelligence Services brief to Meciar and kept him personally out of government, he had to compromise somewhere. He gave the justice ministry to Meciar/Harabin and now these guys are getting rid of much of the good work done in this field from the previous government. Withstanding criticism and using it to improve one-self constructively is a sign of a mature person, Harabin clearly doesn't have that and he proceeded to act like a bull in a china shop inside the ministry so far.

I think Fico should not underestimate how much damage this is going to do to him politically, I obviously don't know the internals of the coalition negotiations, but he should have tried to fob Meciar off with an unimportant ministry like Agriculture or Defence or both. Justice is important in a country with a corruption problem.

Important Suggestion: the business world should provide employment to the unfairly dismissed justices, If you are an employer in Slovakia consider helping justice by employing one of these excellent judges as a lawyer or counsel.

Ľudovít Bradáč (Banská Bystrica)
Robert Urban (Žilina), both heads of regional courts,
and district court chief justices
Peter Hrnčiar (Žilina),
Milan Růžička (Veľký Krtíš)
and Peter Bebej (Dolný Kubín).

as a show of support for judges that try to clean up the murky world of politics. I am sure they are very capable lawyers and this would send a message that the Meciar style corruption is a thing of the past, and will not be tolerated.




this is just a battle lost and not the war. The big question remains as to how R. Fico feels himself about these developments... He has legal training himself so surely he knows exactly what is going on. If Fico resents these changes then sooner or later Meciar will lose the last strands of voter support and be consigned in the dustbin of history, lets hope he goes under 5% in the next election.

Here is an article about from the Slovak spectator. Meciar has become more corrupt with age not less... Presumably all his sponsors are now in the underworld. If this phenomenon is restricted to the justice ministry and for only 5 years, no lasting damage will be done, but i certainly don't like it one bit.

ARTICLE

Harabin sacks critical justices
JUSTICE Minister Štefan Harabin, nominated to his post by the ruling Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), has started getting rid of critics in the judiciary, the Sme daily wrote.

Yesterday he recalled five heads of regional and district courts. All of them were considered to be fighters against corruption. They are pro-reform justices who in the past called on Harabin to leave his post while he was still the head of Slovakia's Supreme Court.

The recalled justices include Ľudovít Bradáč (Banská Bystrica) and Robert Urban (Žilina), both heads of regional courts, and district court chief justices Peter Hrnčiar (Žilina), Milan Růžička (Veľký Krtíš) and Peter Bebej (Dolný Kubín).

Harabin said via his press department that he made the personnel changes because the officials had not fulfilled their duties as chief justices. He would not specify the reasons for their recall, however.

[10/5/2006 12:01:07 PM]