ONLY one fifth of Slovaks thinks that their life has gotten better since 1989. In contrast, 16 years after fall of Communism, more than 40 percent of the population think that political change has brought deterioration in their lives, according to an MVK agency poll conducted for the daily SME.
The Velvet Revolution brought neither improvement nor deterioration for about 26 percent of respondents, while 12 percent did not know if the new political regime brought any change to their lives. It is mainly older people who are not satisfied. Eighty percent of people over 70 expressed dissatisfaction.
According to political analyst Miroslav Kusý, the results of the poll are not surprising. He considers scepticism as natural to human nature and that people view reality much worse than it actually is.
Fedor Gál, one of the personalities of the Velvet Revolution of 1989, reproached those who criticise for having short memories. "They should remember how they were, what they were taught at schools, what they read, what they could publicly speak about, where they could travel, what they were able to buy in shops and that making business was a crime and the unemployed were put in prison as parasites," he said.
Compiled by Marta Ďurianová from press reports
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