Archive of articles - June 2001

Community Corner

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This Week

What is the Lustration Law?

The Lustration Law was approved by the government of Czechoslovakia in the autumn of 1991 in order to prevent former Communist Party officials and members of the ŠtB state secret police from holding sensitive public office posts, particularly within the Foreign Affairs, Interior, Security and Defence ministries.

State begins mulling over bids for VÚB

The steering committee for the sale of a 69% stake in Slovakia's second largest bank, Všeobecná úverová banka (VÚB), June 13 received offers from the only two bidders, Italy's IntesaBci and French bank Societe Generale.The Finance Ministry's Bank Privatisation Unit said before the bids were offered that it believed VÚB could attract a similar price to that offered for Slovakia's largest bank, Slovenská sporiteľňa (SLSP), by Austria's Erste Bank in December.Erste paid 18 billion crowns for an 87% stake in the finance house, meaning the offer for the VÚB stake would be around 14 billion crowns.

Italian SME's circling over Slovakia

"Nobody looks at small firms here, only large ones. The bigger firms can have as much as they want, but the small firms have difficulties even getting a loan."Mario Bedin, managing director of the BCB aluminium smelter and president of the Italian Business Association, is sitting in the Italian Ristorante Alvarez, on the outskirts of Bratislava. His almost resigned tone as he discusses the problems facing small firms stands out against the energetic hum of the Italian spoken by his fellow countrymen at other tables.The restaurant has become a meeting place for Italian businessmen in Slovakia. But as Bedin explains, the diners are more likely to be talking about what they claim is poor government incentives for them than the quality of the imported chianti wine.

Are polling agencies getting it right?

A recent flap over a poll mapping voter support for political parties has, not for the first time, cast doubt on the reliability of polling techniques used by agencies operating in Slovakia.In the poll, which was conducted by the GfK agency for "an exclusive client" but leaked to the media in unclear circumstances, the ruling SDKÚ party of Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda scored as little as 5.4%, less than half of what it had been recording in polls run by other agencies. The newly-founded ANO party of TV Markíza owner Pavol Rusko, on the other hand, took a surprising 7% (see table, this page).The GfK survey results were published by TV Markíza and the daily paper Národná obroda, which ran them twice. The results opened eyes among both politicians and the lay public, and angered sociologists, who noted GfK had not said how the poll had been done - how many respondents had been contacted, when, what methods had been used.

Irish vote dents Slovak EU hopes

Last week's rejection by the Irish electorate of the European Union's Nice treaty - an agreement which gives a blueprint for the union's enlargement eastward - has thrown doubt on the 15-member bloc's plans for expansion.A June 8 referendum held in the Irish Republic resulted in an unexpected rejection of the treaty's ratification. Signed in Nice at the end of last year, the agreement won the support of voters in only two of Ireland's 41 constituencies, with the overall vote swinging 54%-46% against the treaty.Despite a promise from French President Jacques Chirac June 11 that the Nice treaty would be enforced regardless of the Irish vote, many senior EU figures have admitted that hopes entertained by central European states (including Slovakia) of entering the union within the next few years had been dealt a serious blow.

Top Pick: The Cassidys return to Bratislava

As part of their ongoing tour in Austria, Irish folk group The Cassidys will return to Bratislava for the fourth time to give a free concert on the Old Town's Main Square, Sunday, June 24."We have decided to come back to Bratislava because we love it here and because the people who come to our concert are so friendly and appreciative," explained Ciaran Cassidy, group manager and member. "We normally tour Austria, Italy, Germany and Switzerland in June, but we like to include Bratislava in our itinerary [because here] we get a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction."The Cassidys, or Na Casaidigh as they are known in Ireland, is a group of six brothers who grew up influenced by Gaelic culture in Gaoth Dobhair on the rugged Atlantic coastline of Donegal County. The brothers all sing, and play different instruments, including the traditional Irish Uileann bagpipes, bouzouki, bodhran, as well as mandolin, guitar, whistles and fiddles.

Unesco: Recognising Slovakia's cultural and natural beauty

"Although Slovakia is a small country, it's very diverse," says Viera Dvořáková, deputy director of the Institute for Monument Preservation. "When you travel through the country, the images beyond your car window change at every turn. The land transforms swiftly and unexpectedly from vast green lowlands to soaring mountains, from huge cities to miniature villages."These aren't just the claims of a fervent patriot - they're backed up by credentials from an international cultural body which specialises in preserving unique manmade and natural sites.While Slovakia covers only 49,034 square kilometres, and can be driven west to east in just six hours, or form north to south in as little as two, the diminutive country boasts five places which have been included on a list called the World's Cultural and Natural Heritage sites. The list is prepared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation (Unesco).

Shipyard finds calmer water

KOMÁRNO - Sitting in a nearly empty pub in the centre of this town of 38,000 in south Slovakia, 31-year old Roman says he's finding it hard making ends meet."I bike, walk around the town, go to the labour office and ask for a job, but without any hope. That's how my days look. Living on social benefits of 3,100 crowns per month [$60], I've got no business having a family. I can't even support myself," he says.'The Little Horseshoe', as the pub is known, used to be packed with some of the 1,400 workers from the town's once proud shipyard, Slovenské Lodenice Komárno (SLK). But since the firm's bankruptcy at the end of last year, Roman, a former mechanic at the shipyard, has seen the pub's customer numbers dwindle as the town's labour authorities have struggled to keep a lid on unemployment.

Polling statistics: Sorting lies from damn lies

American novelist Cormac McCarthy once wrote of a group of Mexican cowhands that they weighed each piece of new information carefully, and disdained any knowledge not gained at first hand. McCarthy felt this trait was common among people who had become experts in a narrow field of endeavour.

Defence officials defuse fears of VKR agents in ranks

The Slovak Defence Ministry is downplaying allegations that 15 of its army brass used to be members of the communist Military Counterintelligence Unit (VKR), part of the feared Czechoslovak secret service - the State Security Police (ŠtB).The VKR was responsible for weeding out dissenters to the Communist regime.According to information given to Slovak Defence Minister Jozef Stank by his Czech counterpart Jaroslav Tvrdík at a June 8 meeting in Brussels, the 15 suspected former VKR officers are currently working with the Slovak Army, reported the state run press agency TASR.

Around Slovakia

Twelve year-old gives birth to healthy baby boyCar hits horse-drawn carriage on busy bridgePitbull terrier burnt alive inside a MercedesDrunk driver caught with 4.5 blood-alcohol levelSeventh annual Halušky cooking and eating contest

What was the role of the ŠtB and the VKR?

The communist State Security Police (ŠtB) was created in 1945. In the hands of the Communist Party, the ŠtB became a secret police unit which aimed to strengthen the power of the totalitarian regime.The ŠtB targeted 'internal enemies' - Czechoslovak citizens which in the eyes of the communists were enemies of the state - such as the church, intellectuals, or anyone else whose ideas conflicted with official state propaganda.

Slovalco boss: 'Sometimes there's more talk than action'

Štefan Tesák, the ebullient head of Slovak aluminum firm Slovalco, is well past this country's retirement age. But no dog is too old to learn new tricks, he says: Tesák started English lessons in 1997, promotes the latest management techniques, and has recently been confirmed in his job by Slovalco's new foreign owners.It's all a long way from where he began with Slovalco's parent, central Slovak aluminum producer ZSNP, four decades ago. But as Tesák describes, Communism often afforded him glimpses of how market economies worked, while regular contacts with foreign firms kept his language and management skills on a par with those of his western colleagues.

News Briefs

Gay rights activists protest SNS initiativeKlára Orgovánová selected to handle Roma issuesPolice cancel search for 16 missing refugeesAnti-globalism protesters halt traffic in Bratislava

Environmental Impact Assessment - threat or opportunity?

As anyone who has invested in Slovakia can testify, there are many bureaucratic hurdles to overcome before starting a business here. One of these is the need to obtain a building permit prior to any construction work. But for some types of activity or facility, a building permit can only be issued after a comprehensive assessment of the project's environmental impacts has been performed.

Work contracts: Keep that green card

"What do you foreigners have tongues in your heads for, if not to announce changes in your work status?"Coming as it did last week from a peevish, fat-jowled bureaucrat in Bratislava's social benefits firm, Sociálna poisťovňa, the question wasn't meant to be answered, even if several cutting ripostes offered themselves, like eager students for the pretty teacher.But we'll get to those soon enough. First, I should explain that I had had a call in early June from a distraught friend, who had received a letter from Sociálna poisťovňa saying he owed the state over 69,000 crowns ($1,350) and had two weeks to pay up. I was asked to tag along to poisťovňa and plead his case while he looked suitably penitent and impoverished. It wasn't that difficult a role - this guy is forever borrowing cash to make ends meet, and is one of the slowest to pull his wallet out when the bar tab arrives.

Review: Returns in even worse shape than before

After somehow making over $400 million world-wide on its first go-round, The Mummy is back. Apparently, asinine one-liners, predictable plots, horrendous acting and special effects no better than a hand-held Atari are a big draw among movie-goers.The film begins in the year 3067 BC with the Scorpion King (played by American pro-wrestler The Rock) leading his fearsome troops into bloody battle in the Egyptian desert. He is defeated and driven deep into the desert where on the verge of death he strikes a deal with Anubis, god of the dead, who lends Scorpion King his army of lightning-quick dogs. These giant dogs possess the uncanny ability to walk on their hind legs, thus freeing up their forelegs to bludgeon opponents with swords and axes.