Michal Kováč died on October 5. (source: Sme archive)
Michal Kováč was originally supposed to be one of them. One of the people who should set this country apart, belittle the revolution, and push Slovakia to the edge of international isolation.
That was the kind of president that Vladimír Mečiar planned for the country. But the first president of post-1989 Slovakia decided otherwise.
He chose courage. He chose the truth and he said no to lawlessness. He said no in the times when many found it easier to say yes to the machinery of mečiarism. He gave hope to the country at a time when there was little hope.
President Michal Kováč leaves now.
He leaves in times when people who choose truth, courage, and honesty, are needed more than ever before.
Because even though we are often not willing to admit it, the legacy that Michal Kováč in his time said no to, still survives.
