The current government has made the socio-economic situation in Slovakia worse since it was sworn in four years ago, according to a Summary Report on the State of Society in Slovakia 2009 presented by the Institute for Public Affairs (IVO) on May 13, the TASR newswire reported.
“It was the rule of non-liberal populists in conditions of liberal democracy which influenced the quality of the democratic environment in drafting legislation,” said IVO president Grigorij Mesežnikov to TASR. Over the past four years, Slovakia has not moved forward, he added, claiming that overall the period has been more about sustained problems from the past.
IVO's Martin Bútora (former ambassador to the US) pointed out that several opportunities to do something about the Roma issue have been wasted. In the sphere of corruption, the government has produced only words but no deeds, he added. Mária Koliková, author of the chapter on the judiciary, stressed that this sphere has recorded a steep decline, with judges being disciplined for expressing their opinion on the state of the judiciary. She emphasised that if the impartiality of the judiciary is in doubt, the principle of the law-based state is in peril.
INESS (Institute of Economic and Social Studies) economist Richard Ďurana in his section of the report says that the economy has grown over the past four years, but it has been due to the fact that the cabinet did not backslide on the reforms introduced by the previous government. At the same time, the pension system has been weakened by non-systematic measures, he claimed.
The director of the Government Office’s Press Department, Braňo Ondruš, said in response to IVO’s conclusions that the report is a product of a group of people who do not even try to hide their biased attitude towards the current government.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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