Archive of articles - March 2000

HZDS apologises, embraces West

Vladimír Mečiar's opposition Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) held a 'transformation' conference in Trnava on March 18 during which it declared itself a standard political party, changed all five of its previous vice-chairmen, and publicly declared its support for Slovakia's western ambitions.Mečiar, who has been Slovakia's prime minister three times in the past decade, said that the party was changing its face to become more acceptable to domestic political partners and to western countries. The HZDS hopes to gain membership to the European Democratic Union, an organisation representing European centrist and people's parties, which has in the past rejected Mečiar's HZDS party.

News Briefs

Rift between coalition partners widensSlovaks divided over NATO membershipMaverick politician Róbert Fico tops trust ratings

Telecom Minister Jozef Macejko: Show me the money

As the privatisation of a 51% stake in the state-owned telecom monopoly Slovenské Telekomunikácie (ST) enters its last phase, two questions are on everyone's lips - how much will the state get from the sale? And who will the final buyer be: Deutsche Telecom, Royal Dutch KPN Telecom or Telekom Austria?The fact that people are asking 'how much?' and not 'what's going on?', analysts say, is a major victory for the Slovak government in its first attempt to hold a significant international tender for a lucrative state jewel. The eventual buyer will have little time - perhaps two and a half years - to modernise ST and prepare the firm to meet market competition when ST's monopoly expires at the end of 2002.

Review: London Café: jolly good lunches

When visiting the London Café in Bratislava's Old Town, don't think for a minute that its concealed location has affected its number of diners. The taste of jolly old England has become so popular among the Bratislava business crowd that last November the restaurant expanded its seating to almost double its capacity. And based on an afternoon visit by The Slovak Spectator on March 22, the added business is well-deserved.Situated in an enclave just behind the British Council at Panská 17, the London Café presents a dining experience not often found among Bratislava's pubs and bistros. Instead of the traditional meat, gravy-based or heavily fried selections, London Café offers a lighter variety of fare, featuring choices from salads and sandwiches to soups and chicken dishes. The drink menu spans the gamut of options including hard liquor and beer to popular cappuccino and several different flavours of tea.

Gypsy musicians struggle to maintain popularity

On a cold Friday night in February, Kláštorná vináreň wine cellar in the Bratislava Old Town was full of dancing and singing as patrons warmed to the festive playing of the performing Gypsy band. The violinist approached each table and asked for requests - csardas (a Hungarian dance with a slow introduction and wild finish), Russian and Slovak folk-tunes, or anything else they could play.Unfortunately, such scenes are becoming increasingly rare. Gypsy musicians have long been an integral part of central European culture, just as entertaining people through music has long been the Romany way of life. But while the scene at Kláštorná vináreň might suggest otherwise, the rich tradition of Gypsy music has been muted since the fall of communism, as tough economic times mean musicians are no longer assured of restaurant bookings.

Letters to the editor

In Slovakia, the best lack all convictionGetting over the shock of returning to SlovakiaGood riddance to vrátniksSlovakia ripe for National Geographic

London conference puts Slovakia on map

LONDON - Taking their case right to the heart of the British capital, in one of London's highest buildings called The Centre Point, Slovak government and industry representatives on March 21 attempted to awe British investors with the business opportunities to be found in Slovakia during the first ever Slovak presentation in the United Kingdom."Slovakia Opens Up" was how organisers coined the presentation, which attracted more than 40 British companies. Though far better than two conferences held last year in Paris and Brussels, which attracted scant attention, the London pitch perked the interest of British businessmen, but left them wanting more specific project proposals from the Slovak side.

Retreats a useful management tool

This time the request came through email. Tomas G., managing partner of a professional services firm, wanting us to organize an office retreat. The event, he wrote, should be off-site, should build team spirit, should not be too structured and should allow time for fun. But, of course, this was a business investment, so it had to be more than just a fun time. What did we recommend?Office retreats are a common tool for building company spirit, and can be effective. We've done a number of these in Slovakia in the past 10 years. It is critical to set specific goals for the event; when expectations are loose, retreats often end in disappointment. Through emails and a lunch meeting, we agreed with Tomas G. on the following outcomes for his retreat:

Silicon valley takes shape in Slovakia

A massive industrial park is being planned between Malacky and Lozorno (30 kilometres north of Bratislava) designed to lure international technology firms to Slovakia. Working together, the Ministry of Economy, the American Chamber of Commerce and the Slovak Electrotechnical Industry Association envision a three square kilometre high tech zone developed by foreign investors that would rival other European technology centres within the next 10 years.Ground breaking on the project is slated for June 1 this year; the park in the end will bring an estimated $952 million of foreign direct investment to the country and create over 5,000 jobs. The industrial park's boosters are targeting firms involved in micro-electronics, optical-electronics, telecommunications, computers, IT technologies and perhaps biotechnology. One of the aims behind the idea was to create highly skilled job opportunities that would keep some of Slovakia's brightest minds in the country.

Face-lift designed for SNP Square

This could happen to anyone living in Bratislava. You are walking along SNP Square - the largest square in the very centre of the capital city - when a group of foreign tourists stops you. With sincere interest and without any hint of irony or malice, they ask you: "Excuse me, please, could you tell us how to get to the city centre?"The simple fact that visitors to Bratislava's downtown core do not recognise it as the centre of the capital of a modern country is perhaps both the strongest argument and answer to why it is necessary to do "something" about upgrading the main square.

New court reforms resisted

When Justice Minister Ján Čarnogurský took his post in 1998, he outlined the main problems facing the judiciary; the cumbersome backlog of unsolved cases and the fact that judges still lacked independence from the political and economic powers-that-be.Almost 16 months later, Čarnogurský seems close to eliminating the worst of the problems. According to the minister's report for 1999, more than 544,000 unresolved court cases awaited verdicts at the end of 1998, while at the end of 1999, only 257,999 such cases had been left unresolved, a decrease of more than 50%. Čarnogurský also initiated measures to increase the independence of judges during 1999, such as allowing regional and district courts to elect their own chairmen and deputy chairmen.

Business Briefs

Finance Ministry rejects IMF loan connectionBankruptcy laws sent to parliament by cabinetFinance Minister against sale of SPP-TransitStandard and Poor's gives Slovakia positive outlookSlovak Railways cruising smoothly, but still cash poorSiemens branch hits building revenue heights

Rudolf Schuster: 'I just want to explain'

Half way through President Rudolf Schuster's interview with The Slovak Spectator on March 17, presidential spokesman Michal Stasz was getting nervous. The president would be late for a planned meeting with officials from the ruling SDK party, he said, plucking at Schuster's sleeve, and should wrap up the interview immediately. But Schuster, in full flight on the subject of NATO, shook him off. "So we'll be a bit late," he shrugged. "I just want to explain this."Rudolf Schuster has done a lot of explaining over the past decade. A former top-ranking communist official, he has had to justify his current support for democratic and religious ideals; as former mayor of the eastern Slovak metropolis of Košice, he has been asked about the wisdom of a development plan that left the city 1.7 billion Slovak crowns ($40.5 million) in debt at the turn of the century; and as president, he has raised eyebrows with his active interest in foreign policy and readiness to lend support to the interests of the political opposition. Here are his answers to a few of those many questions.

Community Calendar

Hash Run WeekendAmerican Chamber of CommerceInternational Women's Club Bratislava

Yawn, sigh: Another government crisis

How corrupt is Slovak politics? Plenty, judging by the amazing performances of the country's top officials last week.It's becoming almost commonplace these days for Slovak officials to be caught stuffing their pockets with taxpayer crowns. Nor is one surprised when the guilty parties claim they are in fact innocent victims of political persecution, and that other people are bilking the state of even greater amounts. It does seem a bit rich, though, when a ruling coalition party such as the former communist SDĽ sparks a government crisis over the recall of one of its blacker sheep - Štefan Košovan, former director of the Slovenské Elektrárne energy utility.

Quote of the week

Venues

Slovenské Národné Múzeum (Slovak National Museum)Archeologické Múzeum (Archeological Museum)Historické Múzeum Bratislavský Hrad (Historical Museum of Bratislava Castle)Hudobné Múzeum (Museum of Music)Múzeum Židovskej kultúry (Museum of Jewish Culture)Múzeum Kultúry Karpatských Nemcov (Museum of Carpathian German Culture)Mestské Múzeum v Bratislave (City Museum of Bratislava)Múzeum Cestnej a Železničnej Dopravy (Museum of Car and Rail Transport)

Top Pick: A mime interprets Carmen

The true and tested tale of Carmen, a fiery and temperamental Gypsy woman, has delighted opera and film audiences for years. Now, Slovak actor and director Milan Sládek has added a new twist to the story by adapting the opera version of Carmen into a comic mime performance which will premiere March 29 at the Arena Theatre (Divadlo Aréna) in Petržalka.Sládek has donned a mime's paint for years, winning international acclaim for his adaptation of the Grande Pierrot, a famous 19th century Czech mime who went to Paris. He was excited about the potential fun involved in putting on Carmen's crazy love story. "A woman loves a man who loves another woman who in turn loves yet another man," said Sládek. "Entanglements such as these are not unique in literature nor in drama. It becomes more interesting, however, when such a plot is combined with the fundamental character traits of Carmen: temper, pride and strength."

IT project review saves money later

Companies planning huge investments into information technology (IT) would be smart to undertake an IT project review. While often pressed for time, upper management have the ultimate responsibility in whether IT investments pay off or not.One of the most valuable sources of information when assessing IT systems for your company is the Information Systems Audit and Control Association's completed extensive research entitled COBIT (Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology), defining IT project control objectives for major IT business processes. This analysis is an excellent starting point for the execution of project reviews.