RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE 2 June 1999

NATO TRANSPORT TRAINS CROSS CZECH BORDER. Two NATO
transport trains have crossed the Czech border for the
first time, carrying military equipment for NATO use in
the Balkans, CTK reported on 1 June, citing a Defense
Ministry spokesman. The agency said one of the trains
was bound for Romania and contained equipment for a
possible peace-keeping force in Kosova. The other train
was heading for the Balkans via Hungary and transporting
equipment for SFOR units in Bosnia-Herzegovina. MS

HUNGARY INSISTS ON VOJVODINA AUTONOMY. Hungary has a
"vested interest in a long-term, comprehensive
resolution" of the Kosova crisis, which is "not
conceivable without introducing autonomy for ethnic
Hungarians in Vojvodina," Foreign Ministry State
Secretary Zsolt Nemeth told honorary consuls in Budapest
on 1 June. In other news, the two devices that landed on
Hungarian territory from NATO aircraft (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 1 June 1999) were identified as radar traps
that are used for the purpose of disrupting Yugoslav
radar stations, Defense Ministry spokesman Lajos Erdelyi
told Hungarian media. MSZ

NEW MEDIA WAR ERUPTS IN HUNGARY. Hungarian Television
(MTV) Executive Director Zsolt Laszlo Szabo has
appointed Peter Csermely, editor of the right-wing
weekly "Magyar Demokrata," as news director of MTV.
Journalists say Csermely is sympathetic to the extreme-
right Hungarian Justice and Life Party (MIEP), the daily
"Nepszabadsag" reported on 2 June. Opposition Socialist
Party chairman Laszlo Kovacs said the appointment
signals the start of "a new media war," as Csermely
previously drew attention to himself through his
"extremist, radical articles." MIEP chairman Istvan
Csurka said the opposition is "losing their hegemony
over the media, that is why they are plotting and
moaning." MSZ


END NOTE

SLOVAK PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS USHER IN NEW ERA

by Victor Gomez

	The Slovak electorate handed Vladimir Meciar his
latest defeat in last weekend's presidential election.
Many described that defeat, at the hands of ex-
communist-turned-reformist Rudolf Schuster, as the end
of an era. The days of nationalist politics mixed with
corruption appear to be over. The new president and his
allies in the coalition government can now devote
themselves to the work of putting Slovakia back on track
to European integration.
	But while Meciar's defeat may have signaled the end
of an era, the presidential elections in Slovakia have
far from guaranteed the country's overall stability. In
fact, much work remains to be done.
	With a robust 57 percent of the votes in the 29 May
final round of the presidential elections, Schuster has
received a solid endorsement from the electorate.
Although the Slovak presidency is largely a ceremonial
position, the fact that the head of state is directly
elected by the people lends it somewhat greater
political authority than in countries where the
president is elected by the parliament. As the
government-backed candidate, Schuster's main pledge was
to ensure that reforms continue unhindered in Slovakia.
While he said he will oppose the government wherever he
deems it necessary, for the time being he can be
expected to pursue the same line as Mikulas Dzurinda's
cabinet. His cooperation will be ensured in the short
term not because Schuster is a weak politician but
because Slovakia has little room to maneuver at present.
The country's currency recently tumbled as the
markets expressed nervousness both at the upcoming
presidential elections as well as at the general
economic situation in the country. While Meciar's defeat
should have a calming effect, that does not mean the
government can afford to rest on its laurels. At the
moment, Slovakia's economy is stagnating, with many
analysts predicting GDP growth for this year to hover
around just 1 percent. Unemployment, meanwhile, is
dangerously high, at more than 16 percent.
	The government has responded with austerity
measures designed to control public finances and
stimulate economic growth. Whether these prove
sufficient to deal with the situation will become
evident in the coming weeks and months. Meanwhile, the
Dzurinda cabinet has also had to deal with the trail of
corruption and dubious privatizations left by Meciar's
government.
	The problems are manifold, but so far Dzurinda's
coalition government has shown remarkable political will
to deal with them. Composed of a broad mixture of
Christian Democrats, post-communist leftists,
representatives of the country's ethnic Hungarian
minority, and former members of Meciar's party, the
government is an unwieldy creature. The first few months
of the Dzurinda government have shown that--regardless
of a few squabbles--the cabinet has the potential to
govern. Having secured the defeat of Meciar in both last
fall's parliamentary elections and the presidential
vote, the government will now have to maintain a united
front in order to deal with the economic morass the
former premier left behind.
	The danger is that with Meciar soundly defeated at
the ballot box, the disparate groups within the
government will be even more tempted to engage in petty
squabbling. The cabinet can ill afford such internal
disunity, not only because the economy is in deep
trouble but also because Meciar remains a political
force to be reckoned with. After all, he won almost 43
percent of the vote in the presidential election. In
addition, Meciar's Movement for a Democratic Slovakia
has explicitly said its goal is to force early elections
as soon as possible.
	None of this will necessarily be a threat to the
current government if it manages to continue to pursue
much-needed economic reforms and austerity measures. The
results of the presidential election more or less
mirrored those of last fall's parliamentary elections in
terms of the relative strength of the current
government's supporters and of Meciar's backers. For the
time being, the majority of the Slovak electorate seems
prepared to accept the government's arguments about the
necessity of tough economic reforms. But such policies
will eventually start to bite. When that happens, some
coalition members within the government will be sorely
tempted to distance themselves from those measures or
seek to have them watered down.
	In this regard, Schuster can help by acting as a
unifying figure around which the country can rally. In
his capacity as the country's first-ever directly
elected president, he will be in a position to provide
some leadership during the hard times ahead. While he
remains anathema to some Slovaks because of his past as
a high-ranking Communist, many seem willing to accept
him. And with Meciar lurking in the background, Schuster
and the current unwieldy coalition government appear the
best hope of getting the country out of its current
crisis.

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