Peter Tkačenko (source: SME)
When luck’s on your side, it really is – and we won’t pretend not to see that Lady Luck, though a little weary, is currently lounging on the shoulders of Slovakia’s prime minister.
He’s tidied up his coalition, the Christian Democrats (KDH) are eagerly pushing his head into a noose – so eagerly, in fact, that even he seems a bit embarrassed – and he keeps his supporters at a simmer with provocations about the blossoming of Central Asian dictatorships.
From his trip to the “jewel of Central Asia” [i.e. Uzbekistan], it was that last bit which resonated most. But it wasn’t just a show; he was engaged in some actual business too.
He’s returned to the old ways – back when he chaired what was essentially a standard-issue corrupt government, which had to balance and satisfy a range of civic and corporate needs to keep things running smoothly.
And in Tashkent, Robert Fico put on a textbook performance. While one part of the audience is fed fantasies about an Uzbek Wirtschaftswunder [German: “economic miracle”], he had something more tangible for the business community.
