I lived in Žilina as a US Peace Corps Volunteer for two years from 1997-1999. I too experienced an occasional conversation similar to the one you stated in the previous article [ "Overheard: Too little, too slow" Editorial Vol. 7 No. 32 August 27 - September 2].
Whenever I ventured to ask individuals whether they would like to return to Mečiar's leadership and the wonderful propaganda it brought, most people came to the eventual conclusion that although things were bad at the time, no good could be accomplished with him in office.
I only hope for the sake of Slovakia, and that of any country who wants to have diplomatic ties with it in the future, that in 2002 voters take the time to send Mečiar a message he will finally listen to.