Archive of articles - November 2000

German Slovaks rise above lederhosen

"Lederhosen," said Frank Lambach, German Ambassador to Slovakia, in his Bratislava office on a recent weekday afternoon. "I would have to say Lederhosen."Lambach was not fielding a question about German fashion. Lederhosen, the traditional and indestructible short German leather trousers which end at the knee, embodied his belief that Slovakia's German minority - the 'Carpathian Germans' - would eventually become assimilated, a process in which, as elsewhere, only the symbols of German culture would survive.

Mečiar: Down for the count, or biding time?

After suffering his third direct political blow in just over two years, the most charismatic, captivating and controversial politician in Slovak history is on the ropes. But is Vladimír Mečiar, the former amateur boxer and three-time ex-Prime Minister, down for the count?According to his own daughter, the answer is 'I hope so'."We [his immediate family] keep telling him 'Daddy, you have been doing this for 10 years and nobody appreciates your work. Do you think this will change?'" said Magda Mečiarová in a September 25 interview for the weekly magazine Život.

Mortgage bonds await wider market appeal

Participants at a Bratislava conference on mortgage banking in central Europe have said that while the fact the conference was held in the Slovak capital may have been a mark of progress in the country's financial sector, it also highlighted the struggle the sector faces in catching up with more developed western markets.The November 16 and 17 conference, attended by vice-governor of the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) Elena Kohútiková, as well as banking chiefs from across central Europe and Germany, concentrated on what is still proving a difficult move for Slovakia: offering more mortgage banking opportunities, and subsequently new bonds on the financial market - mortgage bonds - both of which would give a lift to retail banking and the country's inactive capital markets.

Capital market revival sensed

The Slovak capital market has shown signs of a trading revival in the last couple of months. Even though the index for the last month (October 17 - November 17) remained at a stable level, it reached 98.74 points on October 23, 2000, representing the absolute high of the index since October 1, 1998 (when the SAX closed above 100 points).Blue chips were traded fairly calmly, and largely followed their prices of recent months. The only significantly strengthened issue was IRB, which closed on November 16 at 340 crowns, while a month before its trading price was 150 crowns.

Around Slovakia

World champion wins with easeCustoms make contraband seizureDrunk man unscathed after train hitHuman body parts found in mine shaftBSE not on Slovak dining tables

FDI troubles loom as labour shortages seen

With a considerable increase in the volume of foreign direct investments in Slovakia over the last 12 months, a threat has arisen that supply of what is now the government's most efficient tool for attracting foreign investors - a skilled and qualified labour force - will not be able to meet growing demand.With foreign companies present in Slovakia claiming they are starting to feel the effects of a labour shortage, both analysts and government officials have said that a lack of skilled and qualified labour may mean Slovakia loses its main advantage over neighbours Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic in the battle for foreign investors.

Marketing on the Internet - rediscovery of major tool

Remember how corporate web sites used to look a few years ago? Just one or two clunky pages of text describing a company's services and products? It seems desperately old-fashioned now, but four or five years ago using the Web as a place to display an electronic brochure really was the cutting edge of marketing. Technology soon evolved, static brochure sites became fully-functional transactional e-commerce sites, and the focus shifted from online marketing to online sales.Many companies are now rediscovering the Internet as a marketing tool - and one that can reduce the costs of traditional marketing by several orders of magnitude.

PM shaken by departure of KDH

Slovakia's ruling coalition as of last Sunday has five, rather than four members. The decision of the Christian Democrats, until now a bloc within Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda's Slovak Democratic Coalition (SDK) party, to leave the SDK parliamentary caucus and set up on its own left a sword of Damocles hanging not only over the stability of the cabinet but also the position of Dzurinda himself.The irony is that Dzurinda had just days before the Christian Democrat (KDH) decision formally launched his own new party, the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ). At 13:00 on Sunday November 19, the prime minister had then appeared on a television talk show with a calm smile, claiming that his relations with the KDH continued to be "close and correct", and that the establishment of the SDKÚ did not in any way weaken the integrity of the SDK.

Draft on e-signatures hits funding snag

Attempts to push through an important law that will affect electronic banking and financial transactions have been stymied by a lack of state finances.While many in both government and parliament have been trying to push forward a law on electronic signatures, a tight budget for next year has left those working on the legislation admitting it will be shelved, most likely for another 13 months."The 2001 budget draft is clear. It tells us that there won't be enough money to begin with this project in 2001 as was originally planned," said Milan Orsáry, head of the Economy Ministry's legislative department, which is drafting the law. "In my opinion, we will start on this in 2002," he added.

Bratislava film festival hits ground running December 1

In only its second year, International Film Festival Bratislava has already become a monumental event. Starting December 1 and running nine days, five theatres at Bratislava's Istropolis, and one theatre at the newly-opened Polus City Center cinema, will show films almost non-stop from morning till late at night."It will be a marathon. The first movies will begin at nine and the last will finish around midnight," said programme director Peter Nágel, whose team travelled the globe searching out movies and bringing back catches from countries as far away as Argentina, India, Iran and the Philippines. "We have an excellent mix of large and unknown films. And I am personally very proud of the quality we have in this year's festival."

Community Corner

English language carol serviceAmCham business breakfastDecember Hash RunAustrian literature eveningFrench Institute exhibitionWelcome understanding of YugoslaviaGoethe Institute exhibitionsAlcoholics Anonymous meetingBratislava Zen Centre

The end of the SDK: Reform - or wool, flax and beans too?

The first time this paper wrote an editorial was in May 1997, in the form of an open letter to then-Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar for an answer as to why his government had thwarted a referendum on direct presidential elections.The political situation is far less dramatic now than it was then, but the need for a public appeal to sense among the current prime minister's colleagues is perhaps no less strong. The process of reform the Dzurinda government started appears to becoming bogged down in the weary everyday business of doing politics in this country.

HR Briefs

Unemployment rate in October at 17.13%

News Briefs

Velvet Revolution rally draws few supportersFico offers crack at parliamentary seats in essay contestMartinková case proceedings await psychiatric reportMinisters win TV popularity contest with some help

Top Pick: Dežo Hoffmann - Slovak photographer of the Beatles

Photographs by Slovak Dežo Hoffman, one of the most popular photographers of the world's celebrities, will be exhibited in Bratislava beginning November 29. The aim of the exhibition is to draw attention to Slovak natives who have become popular abroad.Dežo Hoffmann first gained notoriety when he snapped early photographs of the legendary lads from Liverpool, the Beatles. He went to England in the early 1960s as the Beatles were just beginning their climb to stardom. By spending time with the band in the early days, he built a friendship with them that lasted throughout the seven plus years of fervent 'Beatlemania'.Dežo took more shots of the group and was closer to the boys than any other photographer in the world. He covered all their significant events, from their audition at Abbey Road and their first tour to radio shows and Beatle films.

Investment forum lauded

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands: Peter Kamenický, the director of the Dutch food giant Unilever in Slovakia, narrowed his eyes appreciatively as he surveyed a room full of Dutch and Slovak business people deep in conversation. "I'm just enjoying the atmosphere," he smiled between drags on a cigarette. "Communication is a great thing."Communication was both the theme and the main attraction at all levels of the Inwest Forum investment conference that took place in The Hague on November 16. Not only were top Slovak officials such as Deputy Prime Minister for Economy Ivan Mikloš and Agriculture Minister Pavol Koncoš on hand to impart the latest developments in economy, legislation and investment, but a delegation of 27 Slovak firms looking for investors and customers was paired off with potential Dutch partner

Business Briefs

FNM to sell 7% of Slovnaft on stock marketBudget deficit for first 10 months at 11.9 billion crownsOver 10,000 flats completed in 10 monthsAlbania interested in more SE power exportsŽSR wants 15% fare rise and discount changes

This Week

Organisation culture reconsidered

Recently we gave a presentation to a group of Human Resource Managers who have responsibility for Central and Eastern Europe. The task - to comment on the status of Organisation Development (OD) as a tool used in companies to improve productivity and affect management change. It made us stop and think.In assessing OD's usefulness here, several observations can be made. These should cause any manager to take a hard look at the approach a firm uses, how it spends time and money. The implications should force all executives to shift the nature of their jobs and use a new way of thinking.