President Rudolf Schuster met former Prime Minister and opposition HZDS Chairman Vladimír Mečiar on November 11 after Mečiar had requested an audience. Mečiar appealed to Schuster as a moral authority to call a round-table of parliamentary parties. The former PM complained that currently there is no dialogue between the ruling coalition and the opposition, even though the worsening situation in society needs to be addressed.
The opposition leader said that if political parties could not reach an agreement on addressing social problems like unemployment, the falling standard of living and restricted social benefits, the opposition might seek solutions through civil unrest.
Schuster welcomed Mečiar's initiative, but conditioned the round table on the consent of other political parties. He said he would like to summon a round-table by the end of this year.
22. Nov 1999 at 0:00 | From press reports of TASR and SITA
