František Gaulieder has re-entered politics through an unlikely door. The former Slovak Parliamen-tary deputy from Premier Vladimír Mečiar's ruling HZDS became a member of the party's sworn enemy, the Christian Democratic Movement, on October 1.
"I have entered the KDH just now because I want to accomplish what I could not before, and I want to accomplish it in the company of polite people," Gaulieder said. He explained that the KDH had been the only option for him after his departure from Mečiar's HZDS.
Gaulieder had his mandate as a Parliamentary deputy revoked in December1996, after he decided to leave the HZDS. "My parliamentary vote was strategic for the HZDS, whenever they wanted to push something through," said Gaulieder.
After Gaulieder decided to leave the HZDS, the party and its coalition partners decided to strip him of his Parliamentary immunity and his HZDS membership. The move was ruled unconstitutional by the Consitutional Court, and the Mečiar government's refusal to reinstate him has been repeatedly criticized by the European Union.
As a new KDH member, Gaulieder did not expect to be given a core function within the party immediately. "It would be unfair to request any position if I had done nothing for the movement yet," he said. In the future, however, he would like to enter active political life and work in the area of state administration and security and defence. "I think I can offer my experience in managing state affairs on the regional level, but I need some time to achieve these goals," Gaulieder added.
