Archive of articles - February 1998, page 2

Fifth Bratislava bridge planned to arc over Danube river

"Everyone who travels during the rush hours knows how hard it is to get to the center from Petržalka."Ján Kotuľa, Bratislava's deputy mayorA gentle haze of smog SETTLES on Bratislava from the number of cars operating in the city. Bearing the brunt of this new onslaught are the city's four bridges that span the Danube river, causing traffic problems and potential hazards as they crumble under all the wear and tear. Because of this, the city is planning to build a fifth bridge between Starý Most (Old Bridge - originally built by Russian soldiers in 1945) and the Prístavny crossing, over Bratislava's shipping yard, in the next two years.

Like a bad movie: Political script needs a rewrite and the actors must study their roles

Village witch doctors and crystal balls may soon be back in vogue in Slovakia given the inability of legal analysts to make sense of what is going on in politics. The Prime Minister's party has said that it wants the Prime Minister to run for the soon-to-be-vacant Presidency, even though the Prime Minister himself doesn't want the job, and the Constitution says he's not allowed to do both jobs at once anyway. The still-sitting President has called a re-run of a referendum on the direct election of his replacement, although the Constitution says the government can nix the results of the public vote by adopting a constitutional statute after three years. And no-one can say how laws are going to be passed or government ministers changed when President Michal Kováč leaves office on March 2.What is the Constitutional Court's position on this shambolic state of affairs? Nothing very concrete, unfortunately, when what verdicts it does produce are not legally binding.Part of the problem lies with the Constitution itself, which was drafted very hastily in 1992 only months before Slovakia's separation from the Czech Republic. There was simply no time for in-depth analysis of the text, still less for discussion of the situations that might arise when the various provisions were applied.

Thirsty Monk dry, Golden Pheasant flies

Two of the biggest Slovak breweries, Šariš and Zlatý Bažant, moved in opposite directions in terms of production, exports and profit over the last year. While Šariš's production dipped 5.3 percent, Zlatý Bažant's production soared by 51. This year, the clash of the Slovak beer titans should rage on, as Zlatý Bažant wants to continue its bubbling trend and Šariš aims to hop back on the right track.It will also be a furious duel of world beer giants, since Šariš is 98 percent owned by South African Breweries, Ltd. (SAB), and Zlatý Bažant is 66-percent owned by Dutch Heineken, ranked respectively number five and two in the world in production volume.

Browsing for books in Bratislava

BIG BEN BOOKSHOP Slovakia spol. s r.o.ARTFORUM s. r.o.Kníhkupectvo POLYGLOTACADEMIA MATEJOVIČ

SAP Slovakia plans 1998 sales increase of 30-35%

Organized crime terrorizes Slovak society

In 1989, Slovakia slew the hydra of Communism, only to see another beast put forth its ugly head. This monster is known around the world as organized crime. For a country such as Slovakia, which has no historical experience of such a phenomenon, organized crime's increasingly ruthless and brutal tactics imperil the nation's democratic and economic transition by sapping people's will to stay the course. People are having an increasingly difficult time reconciling their increased economic prosperity and freedom with the loss of their security and sense of safety. In this special five-part series, The Slovak Spectator looks at the roots of organized crime in Slovakia and how it affects people's lives, explores the inside workings of Slovak jails, examines the relationship between the Mafia and state authorities and asks what these authorities are prepared to do, not only to fight this new beast but actually to kill it.

January inflation 1.9% mo/mo, 7.2% yr/yr

Human rights report slaps country's wrist again

The following text contains the introduction of the 1997 United States Human Rights Report on Slovakia, along with a few excerpts from the 15 page annual report:The Slovak Republic became an independent state in 1993, following the dissolution of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic (ČSFR). Its Constitution provides for a multiparty, multiethnic parliamentary democracy, including separation of powers and an independent judiciary. Slovakia chose to carry over the entire body of ČSFR domestic legislation and international treaty obligations, which gradually are being renewed or updated. The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary; however, some critics allege that the Ministry of Justice's logistical and personnel authority allows it to exert some influence on the judicial system.

Computers marked "absent" in classrooms

"It is a pity that schools in Slovakia are not able to afford the necessary hardware and software to work with computers, multimedia, or Internet. It is so important that schools go with the new trend. In Germany, big companies understand this, as well as the fact that school children are their potential employees and customers."Walter Sabiel, German language teacherThe current batch of Slovak students from elementary and secondary schools may find itself on the verge of technological doom over the next 15 years. While their counterparts on the western front will be armed to the teeth with heavy-caliber information technology weapons, Slovak work force recruits will be lucky to have seen a computer in the classroom.Look into a typical Slovak school and it becomes evident that elementary schools and many secondary schools (especially outside Bratislava) are "computer-free" zones. The situation in Slovakia is similar to that in the west 15 years ago. The schools that do make computers available to students have only a few old machines running outdated software that is more trouble to learn than it is worth.

Slovak electoral law draft endangers small parties

The Slovak Interior Ministry has prepared an amendment to the electoral law which opposition leaders say is a blatant attempt to ruin their chances in September's general elections.The Interior Ministry said on Thursday it had prepared a draft which would require each party within a coalition to cross a five percent threshold of the overall electoral vote in order to gain parliamentary representation."The change to the quorum (threshold) was decided to give equal chances for all political subjects in the election," said Dušan Sveda of the Interior Ministry's legal department.

Finance Ministry seeks funds, NBS strives for lower interest rates

The last two weeks of February were fairly quiet on the foreign exchange market, but the money market recorded an interesting development. The Slovak crown slightly firmed during the period, entering a consolidation phase after somewhat unstable developments in January.The foreign exchange market is currently so illiquid that even significant moves of the Czech crown against the Deutsche mark have no impact on the Slovak crown. Most forex market players follow the National Bank of Slovakia's (NBS) fixing. As a result, the NBS is finding it difficult these days to manage its goal of establishing a realistic value for the Slovak crown against both the mark and the dollar.

Petržalka's paradox - higher education and high anxiety

Travellers approaching Bratislava from Graz get their first glimpse of Slovakia as they drive through the Austrian hamlet of Kittsee. Many are unprepared for the sudden vista of Petržalka's housing estates, massive and grim on the horizon. The dour face of socialism is not easily forgotten.What lies behind that face is equally striking. Petržalka's roads are like windswept canyons between12-story apartment buildings that may sprawl up to 300 meters in length. Public areas are filthy with refuse, while knots of children collect aimlessly on street corners, waiting for something to happen.

Mečiar denies Presidential aspirations

On Friday, February 13, the HZDS called a snap press conference in Parliament to announce the party's plans to discuss the nomination of Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar for president.Fresh from a stinging reversal in the chamber, where its coalition allies, the SNS and ZRS, had refused to support a proposed law on social security for the army, HZDS deputies were in the mood to drop a bombshell. "I talked to the Prime Minister about my intention [to officially propose Mečiar for the Presidency]," said Tibor Cabaj, head of HZDS's parliamentary club, "and got his agreement."But after seven days of frantic speculation about the legal nuances involved in Prime Minister Mečiar becoming President Mečiar, the man himself said that he would not seek the Presidential post. "To tell the truth, I really don't want [the Presidency]," Mečiar confessed on February 20.