The ranks of the opposition HZDS party remain tense after a congress last weekend at which many long-time party officials were dropped from a list of candidates for upcoming September elections. MPs and regional party leaders have openly complained about the autocratic way in which HZDS leader Vladimír Mečiar forced through his vision of the party’s future.
“I’ve been a member of the party since 1991, but I’ve never experienced anything like this,” said HZDS national council member Marián Jaroš from Košice.
Marta Aibeková, a long-time HZDS MP who has been dropped from the candidates list, complained of the “cruelty of politics and the HZDS’ approach to people.”
But former Deputy Prime Minister Sergej Kozlík, who remains in favour with Mečiar, dismissed the complaints. “Time heals all wounds,” he said.
Compiled by Tom Nicholson from press reports.
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
11. Jul 2002 at 10:37
