The level of democracy in Slovakia remained unchanged with a mark of 2.9 in the third quarter of 2013, according to the barometer survey carried out by the Public Affairs Institute (IVO).
Marks granted by the institute range between 1 and 5, with 1 expressing an ideal state of affairs within a surveyed bracket. The quality of democracy stayed the same quarter-on-quarter in two out of the four surveyed categories including human and minority rights(3.25) and independent media(3.00). Meanwhile, the mark for democratic institutions and the rule of law fell by 0.25 points to 3.25. Conversely, the institute noted improvement in the legislation category, which went up 0.25 points q-o-q to 2.25.
“We haven’t seen any noticeable improvements in the effectiveness of the running of various supervisory mechanisms - neither in Parliament, nor as concerns appointing members to significant posts in supervisory bodies,” the IVO’s Grigorij Mesežnikov observed at a press conference on October 23. “What was once promised by the [governing] Smer party and by its top representatives with respect to granting the opposition the right to acquire adequate representation in supervisory bodies hasn't been kept.”
The expert added that an unsettling trend has been watched in parliament. “The political confrontation that we’ve witnessed has taken the form of physical conflict,” said Mesežnikov, as quoted by the TASR newswire. IVO stated in the analysis that this can be attributed mainly to the ruling Smer party.
Mesežnikov went on to note that one of the factors influencing the quality of democracy in the country that was taken into account was that the appointment of the new general prosecutor still remains surrounded by doubt as to the legitimacy of the process. Also reflected in the final mark was the recent affair concerning the purchase of SPP shares which pointed to alleged ties between the government and influential financial groups.
(Source: TASR)
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
