Archive of articles - August 2002, page 14

UN says life in Slovakia pretty good

Housing starts behind schedule

C/A deficit on par with 2001

Farmers: Labour rules crimping harvest

STV boss Materák to get the boot?

Poorest areas in Prešov mountain region hide architectural jewels

IT IS Sunday morning in late July, and the citizens of the smallest Slovak village, Príkra (pop. 10), are gathering for mass. At the ringing of the bells they climb a gentle hill to a grove of massive lime trees that hide a tiny wooden church.Most of the worshippers are their 80s, and lower themselves carefully into their seats in one of the church's six pews. The priest arrives, and conducts the service from a pulpit so close to his flock that those in the front pew could touch his robes, were they to reach out."It has its magic. The priest is so close to the people and the space is so small that it creates a very personal, home-like atmosphere," says Eva Semanová from the Regional Conservation Office in Prešov.

Smer party candidate denies secret service ties

ECONOMIST Maroš Kondrót, a top member of the non-parliamentary Smer party, admits to being a former classmate of ex-secret service boss Ivan Lexa. But he says his other apparent connections to Slovakia's troubled political and economic past have nothing to do with his future in the party.Kondrót stands a strong chance of getting a seat in the legislature in September parliamentary elections, running for Smer at number 13 on the party's candidates list (Smer leader Robert Fico has said he expects to capture over 30 seats in the next parliament).That's not a prospect welcomed by many domestic political observers, who fear Smer may prove a ladder to power for other politicians tied to top former secret service and energy sector structures.

Majský charged over financial shenanigans

HZD splinter party scores 5.3% support

Pot, sex and army stickers

THOUSANDS of partying young Slovaks visiting the country's largest music festival over the July 29-21 weekend in Trenčín accepted with rock-concert enthusiasm the stickers handed out at the gates. One depicted a turtle having sex with an army helmet, with a vulgar English caption; another the word 'sex' above an approving Nike-style swoosh-mark; another a cannabis leaf.Many fixed the handouts on their clothes and bodies. It was not until they realised the stickers were the work of a political party, however, that the festival-goers began to murmur.The youth wing of the Social Democratic Alternative (SDA) party is now in hot water from both Pohoda festival management and its own senior advisors over the sticker campaign. Much of the stir was caused by the 'Fuck the Army' turtle-and-helmet collage, which came as a serious embarrassment to Defence Minister Jozef Stank, who is running for national elections in September on the SDA ticket.

Acid gang search widens

Communist-era law abolished

What to do and where to go in Prešov region

With the holidays already here, this section may help you to plan trips on free days to explore natural beauties, visit cultural events or just learn more about Slovakia

Privatisation funds to unreformed sector

Fitch unimpressed by Slovak economy

Je tu bordel: Slovaks down on apparently better life

IT WAS WHEN a brick came crashing down the chimney in our Bratislava housing complex, blowing the soot of a century of communal gas fires into our bathroom, that I finally began to understand why Slovaks are so down on life in their country despite ostensible signs of improvement.The brick had slipped from the hands of a crew of workers erecting an unauthorised two-storey 'podkrovie' attic addition on our four storey building. Their construction permission from Bratislava Old Town had allowed them to repair a leaking roof, but some well-connected entrepreneur had seen an opportunity to erect some lucrative new dwellings.The building, which houses about 20 families, now has structural cracks groaning down to the basement, as it was never designed to bear podkrovie. It has a crew of largely Ukrainian workers who hurl construction waste from the roof into the courtyard below, and who after work can sometimes be found sprawled drunk in the refuse. It has a new laddered scaffolding out front which is unguarded at night, and which gives anyone who feels the urge direct access through any window in the building. It has a warren of unhappy tenants who have no one to complain to.

Accounting law adopts global standards

AS CORPORATE accounting scandals continue to batter American and international stock markets, Slovakia's new law on accounting standards has won public praise, although some experts say it does not go far enough in bringing accounting practices into line with those in western Europe.The law, approved in mid-July, is designed to establish accepted internationally-used accounting standards (IAS) in Slovakia, and will take effect at the beginning of 2003, together with new accounting procedures for different business branches, which have yet to be passed.However, some accounting professionals say that the new law is only a half-measure, and that key issues remain to be addressed.

Lexa stays in jail

Reader feedback: Dashed hope for Fico