Re: Poll shows optimism increasing, Volume 10, Number 49, December 20, 2004 - January 9, 2005
You put a good spin on this story but it also confirms what some people have been saying for a while: that Slovakia is splitting into two nations - the haves and have nots. I would like to feel that the rise in optimism is due to more people becoming haves than have nots. But it might be that opportunities are increasing for us urban types faster than they are getting worse for the "forgotten generation".
This matters to the extent that, however much we froth that [Smer Chairman Robert] Fico is the devil's own populist, he's going to win an election unless the government reaches out to the unemployed, the disabled and the pensioners. And once Fico wins, a great deal of good could be undone. It's possible that the reforms will work some magic and there will be wealth to share with all before the election. Let's hope so, but it's still far from being a safe bet.
Roger Heyes,
Žilina, Slovakia
