US embassy cable - 04BRATISLAVA991

UNCLAS  BRATISLAVA 000991 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, MARR, PREL, SMIG, LO, IZ 
SUBJECT: SLOVAKIA POLITICAL ROUNDUP OCTOBER 28, 2004 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED -- PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
Slovak NGOs Coach Iraqis on Building Civil Society 
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1. (U) The Pontis Foundation will bring an Iraqi delegation 
consisting of politicians, NGO workers, and diplomats to 
Slovakia for a brief introduction to the Slovak government 
and press.  The Bratislava-based International Republican 
Institute (IRI) and the Pontis Foundation presented their 
experiences and reflections September 24 after an eight-day 
trip to Baghdad.  Pontis employees described their trip to 
Baghdad to meet project implementers and to consult new 
political parties and civil society organizations.  They 
discussed security challenges but focused on the 
psychological hurdles to creating a free society similar to 
those Slovakia had to overcome.  Most interlocutors knew 
Slovakia's recent history and said the Slovaks understood 
their situation and provided relevant recommendations.  The 
Iraqis were concerned that donor money was too focused on 
elections, giving rise to many new NGOs focused solely on 
upcoming elections without any long-term focus. 
 
Parliament Approves Further Reform Agenda Laws 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
2. (U) Parliament approved four laws providing for 
substantial fiscal decentralization.  The legislation allows 
municipalities and regional self-governments to retain 
approximately 15 percent of the centrally collected income 
tax and collect some local taxes. 
 
3. (U) Parliament approved six laws introducing market 
principles into the Slovak health care system.  Health 
reform focuses on privatization of health care service 
providers and health insurance companies, patients' 
participation in their own treatment, and preventative 
medicine (septel). 
 
4. (SBU) Parliament abolished the "tripartite law" requiring 
the government to consult with employers' associations and 
labor unions on issues affecting the workforce.  Now the 
"tripartite" system will function only as an advisory body 
for the government.  The de facto result was to downgrade 
the formal status and influence of the Confederation of 
Labor Unions (KOZ), which increasingly focused on political 
activism rather than labor issues and had cooperated closely 
with the political party SMER. 
 
5. (U) Parliament opened another twelve-month window for 
churches to seek restitution of land and real estate.  Many 
churches could not process restitution claims in the twelve- 
month period previously allowed in 1993. 
 
6. (SBU) President Gasparovic vetoed all twelve reform laws. 
Three coalition MPs (Eva Cerna, ANO; Jozef Banas, SDKU; and 
Gyorgy Juhasz, SMK) told poloffs October 19 that 
Gasparovic's veto was a populist move that parliament would 
certainly overturn.  Parliament overturned eleven vetoes, 
excluding the law on property restitution.  The excluded law 
had a "technical error" where a critical paragraph was 
excluded when parliament sent the law to the president. 
Previous presidents would informally send legislation back 
for correction; Gasparovic's veto delays the legislation for 
six months until it can be re-submitted as a new bill. 
Pursuing the controversial legislation this session would be 
highly questionable constitutionally and therefore would 
almost certainly fail. 
 
Polish-Czech-Slovak Brigade Will Disband 
----------------------------------------- 
 
7. (SBU) Vladimir Jakabcin, Director General, Defense Policy 
and International Relations, MOD voiced regret to emboffs 
October 27 that the Slovak MOD has decided to disband the 
multinational brigade.  The brigade began as a Vishegrad-4 
initiative intended to promote multinational military 
cooperation shortly after Poland, Hungary, and the Czech 
Republic joined NATO.  Hungary opted out.  Jakabcin, former 
Slovak DCM to Poland who worked the creation of this 
brigade, noted Polish dissatisfaction with the Slovak 
decision.  He highlighted the value of the multinational 
command leadership and management experience.  The unit is 
too small and static to meet NATO standards.  Jakabcin said 
reforming the brigade to form an EU Battlegroup or NRF unit 
would be too expensive. 
 
Party of the Democratic Left (SDL) Merges with Smer 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
8. (SBU) Tibor Kruzlik, former adviser to SDL Chairman Jozef 
Migas, told political specialist SDL's merger with Smer is a 
done deal.  SDL could not find a new, charismatic leader to 
 
drive the party on a national scale.  SDL's large number of 
mayors, municipal deputies, and regional politicians as well 
as physical party infrastructure will fold into Smer.  SDL 
may receive seats in parliament in return.  Smer may gain 
SDL's membership in international party organizations such 
as the Socialist International.  The merger may stabilize 
Smer's support from the political left.  On the other hand, 
it may open the party to further rifts between SMER's 
centrist, business-interested sect and SDL's leftists. 
 
9. (SBU) Smer will likely open its ranks to Social Democrats 
(SDSS) members, although the parties will not merge.  SDSS 
party infighting prevented it from effectively negotiating 
for a future on the political scene within SMER. 
 
WEISER 
 
 
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