US embassy cable - 04BRATISLAVA615

UNCLAS  BRATISLAVA 000615 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, KCOR, LO 
SUBJECT: MINORITY GOVERNMENT: WIN SOME, LOSE SOME 
LEGISLATIVE REFORMS 
 
REFTEL: BRATISLAVA 524 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified - protect accordingly 
 
1. (U) Summary. Over the past two months, the GOS got some 
groundbreaking legislation through Parliament, but also 
suffered setbacks in its reform program.  Victories included 
the anti-discrimination law (reftel) and important anti- 
corruption laws.  The minority government currently controls 
only 68 of 150 seats.  It sought support from opposition and 
independent MP's, compromises with coalition partners, and 
the final laws were sometimes stronger than the original 
drafts.  The Ministry of Health's controversial reform 
package passed the first reading but still faces an uphill 
battle.  However, the Ministry of Education's university 
reform failed to pass after Free Forum members and other 
independents did not vote with the coalition. End Summary. 
 
Coalition Rifts Mended with Compromises 
-------------------------------------- 
 
2. (U) The Conflict of Interest Law, which mandates the 
public disclosure of assets for officials, now applies to 
all mayors, town councils, members of Parliament, and 
regional authorities.  The main changes between this bill 
and the one originally proposed by Justice Minister Daniel 
Lipsic is that close relatives are not required to disclose 
assets, and a quorom of three-fifths (rather than simple 
majority) is necessary for Parliament to begin corruption 
proceedings against a member. Jan Hrubala, the Director of 
the Government Office for Anti-Corruption Initiatives, told 
poloffs that the compromise kept the integrity of the law 
intact.  He said it had been necessary to gain support from 
most MPs and appease regional authorities wary of new 
regulations imposed by the national government. To help 
implement the law, the government will seek approval of 
a bill to expand the powers of local auditors. 
 
3. (U) Parliament also passed the highly politicized anti- 
discrimination law (see reftel), which coalition partners 
had debated for years. Hrubala said the government planned 
to amend 20 other laws with blanket anti-discrimination 
clauses to further protect vulnerable populations. 
 
Non-Partisan Judicial Reform Easily Approved 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
4. (U) Minister Lipsic's reorganization of the judicial 
system sailed through Parliament. The American Bar 
Association and Central Eurasian Iniative (ABA/CEELI) 
assisted with the original study that recommended merging 
district and regional courts into larger circuit courts. 
Larger courts allow increased specialization of judges in 
areas such as family or bankruptcy law and cut unnecessary 
expenditures.  The number of justices on the Supreme Court 
will be reduced.  They will only hear extraordinary appeals 
and interpret the law. 
 
Major Reforms Face Uphill Battle 
-------------------------------- 
 
5. (SBU) Alliance for the New Citizen (ANO) Health Minister 
Zajac`s reform package barely passed the first reading in 
Parliament, after contentious public debate.  It still faces 
strong opposition for the second and third readings.  The 
Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) Education Minister 
Fronc's university reform was rejected. Both plans are 
unpopular with employees of the health and education 
sectors, even though the government ran targeted public 
awareness campaigns.  KDH MP Maria Majdova told poloffs that 
the coaltion did not have sufficient support within the 
ministries to counteract pressure from opposition parties. 
The coalition had relied on support from Free Forum and 
independent MP's to pass reform-oriented legislation, but 
many of them voted against Fronc's law, which would 
introduce tuition fees and was therefore unpopular among 
students and parents. Fronc will likely submit a modified 
bill in September. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
8. (SBU) The minority government has come to rely on 
independent MPs and the Free Form party of former SDKU 
members to pass important elements of its reform program, 
often amidst claims that the MP's receive favors in 
exchange.  Vojtech Tkac, chairman of HZDS breakaway party 
People's Union (LU), resigned his position because his 
deputies frequently voted against their party's platform and 
with the coalition.  MP's across party lines vote for 
 
 
government initiatives with broad public support such as the 
Conflict of Interest and Anti-Discrimination bills. 
Unpopular reforms that have a wider impact on the public, 
such as health care and university reform, will be more 
difficult for the coalition to push through without a 
parliamentary majority.  While the government coalition 
currently seems certain to hold together until the end of 
its term, its weakened position (due to many defections from 
the ANO and SDKU parties) presents a tough challenge for 
continuing the aggressive reform program. 
 
WEISER 
 
 
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