Archive of articles - October 1999

A brighter picture

Deputy Prime Minister for Economy Ivan Mikloš is one of the few Slovak politicians who think the country's media is doing a good job. On an October 26 talk show on TV Markíza, he said he thought the media's appetite for scandals involving cabinet members had helped to keep the government honest, and that its critical approach was appropriate.If he had one suggestion, Mikloš added, it would be that the media leaven their diet of criticism with some reference to the good economic results Slovakia has produced this year. Interest rates have fallen from 18% to around 12%, Mikloš pointed out, while the government now sells state bonds for 15%, rather than the 30% paid by the Mečiar government. Slovakia looks likely to meet its goal of cutting the current account deficit to 5-6% of GDP in 1999 from over 10% for the last three years, while the budget deficit will come fairly close to hitting the 15 billion Slovak crown target the government set back in April.Mikloš is right. Somewhere among the gory details of debt settlement, the Nafta Gbely affair and the resignations of two ministers, the press forgot that there is another, brighter side to Slovakia's post-Mečiar recovery. The government isn't a viper's nest of opportunists and self-serving cleptocrats, however much it may seem that way in the pages of Slovak dailies.

Letter to the Editor

Shipping firm sues Austria for 1996 Ďumbier disaster

Reform guru Mikloš hemmed in

For foreign investors and the international financial community, Deputy Prime Minister for Economy Ivan Mikloš is something of a godsend - a heavyweight reformer who talks sense and has managed to convince his cabinet colleagues of the need to cut government spending.And yet, Slovak economic professionals say that the myth may have outgrown the man. As a reformer, they say, Mikloš now has very little support in cabinet, and in showdowns with the country's other main economic architect, Finance Minister Brigita Schmögnerová of the former communist SDĽ party, Mikloš is losing an increasing number of important battles.

Letter to the Editor

Unemployment down to 17.8% in September

Slovakia's balance of payments in surplus again

November cultural activities in central European cities

brnoCommunism in black and white The Morava Gallery in Brno has used the 10th anniversary of the 1989 Velvet Revolution to exhibit a sample of its thousands of archived photographs taken by both Czech and Slovak photographers since the Second World War. Though the main photo exhibit on the subject is now closed, it is still possible to browse through and buy more than a dozen compilation books on the subject.One of the finest buys in the gallery bookshop is the 100 Sk catalogue of a September gallery exhibition called My - 1948-1989 (Us - 1948-1989), which includes more than 450 black and white pictures snapped by Czech and Slovak amateur and professional photographers. Also available is a book of photographs by wonderful Czech photographer Jindřich Štreit, entitled "Confiscated Pictures," which shows pictures of village life under communism which were confiscated by police authorities until after 1989.

Pipeline operator Transpetrol with 500 million Sk gross

Power producer improves losses to 1.87 billion Sk

Extortionists refine tactics

Vladimír owns a business in western Slovakia employing over 250 people. Two years ago, he says, he was approached by several young, pleasant men whom he knew vaguely, and was offered a 'deal' - to pay them a sum of money for a service he didn't need.Vladimír (not his real name) says the men came equipped with detailed information about his firm - information so complete that he believes it must have come from the tax office. The men said that in return for a sum of money - calculated carefully according to what they knew the firm could afford - they would issue Vladimír a false invoice for work done. Vladimír could write off the invoice as an expense, thus paying lower taxes, and the men would disappear with their fee."Extortion has become a very sophisticated criminal practice," said Vladimír, who would not give either his real name and address or that of his firm for fear of retribution.

Cabinet approves bank restructuring programme

Ailing health sector rejects budget cuts

When Finance Minister Brigita Schmögnerová introduced her proposed state budget for the year 2000 in the government two weeks ago, Health Minister Tibor Šagát was one of the first to protest. And no wonder - the 40 billion crowns ($1 billion) that Schmögnerová has earmarked for the Ministry of Health is three billion crowns less, in nominal terms, than it received this year, and 13 billion less than Šagát has requested for next year. The shortfall, Šagát said, will bring the healthcare sector to its knees.Health experts, from MP's to Health Ministry officials and doctors, agree that the funding cut for 2000 will destroy even the few quality healthcare services that have been preserved in this collapsing sector.

Expat running group gets in gear

Wondering how to keep warm during the frigid Slovak winter? Wondering what to do about your ever-expanding waistline, a product of Slovakia's delicious beer and tasty vyprážany syr? The Slovak Spectator has the solution to both problems: join our runing group and work up a sweat in the chilling months to come.Anyone interested in participating knows that it can be tough to find motivation to train when the mercury drops below zero and you don't have any friends courageous (or foolish) enough to brave the elements with you.That's why The Slovak Spectator is organising a running group. Whether you're just out for a spin, training for the November one kilometre run in Petržalka or gearing up for the Danube Marathon in April, now's the time to find some running friends.

HZDS approves transformation to People's Party

Pizza Hut opens second Slovak restaurant in Nitra

Court blocks ministry's ST shares

An injunction issued on October 26 by Bratislava District I Court Judge Táňa Koprdová has blocked the Economy Ministry from handling its 100% stake in state telecom monopoly Slovenské Telekomunikácie (ST). The ruling puts the cabinet's plans to privatise a 51% stake in ST on indefinite hold, and threatens to further delay the already drawn-out process of selling the firm to a strategic investor."I don't want to start a panic, but I really see the situation as very bad," said ST Director Emil Hubinák in an interview with the daily paper Sme on October 27. "I don't think it's likely that we will privatise [ST] this year."

President Schuster flexes foreign policy muscles

Although Slovak President Rudolf Schuster has been in office only four months, he has already managed to carve out an important diplomatic role for himself. But while many of his foreign policy aims are in harmony with those of the Slovak Foreign Ministry, Schuster has not been able to avoid stepping on a few diplomatic toes.Schuster's most recent excursion into foreign policy came on October 21, when he awarded the Chinese Ambassador to Slovakia, Tao Miao-fa, the Order of the White Double Cross (Class II). The decoration is normally given for oustanding contributions to Slovak interests.

IMF mission praises budget draft

The recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to Slovakia called the government's goal of keeping the deficit of public finances at 3% of GDP in the year 2000 "adequate," but warned that this year's public finances deficit could reach 4.4% of GDP - far above what government officials themselves are projecting.The mission, led by Robert Feldman, was visiting Slovakia for the first time since April, and presented its findings on October 26 to the Parliamentary Budget, Finance and Currency Committee, as well as to Finance Minister Brigita Schmögnerová.