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Wednesday, April 26, 2000
Resurrection Slovak strongman Meciar vows comeback after arrest By Ivan Remias Vladimir Meciar, the former strongman of Bratislava, could hardly have picked a more perfect place for peace and quiet than this quaint little spa town in the rolling green hills of western Slovakia. These days, the air here is sweet with the scent of spring flowers. The streets are alive with laid-back tourists. Couples hold hands and raise wine glasses in outdoor cafes. Children kick balls in back alleys. But on the morning of Thursday, April 20, high drama shook this town and its many passionate supporters of three-time former Prime Minister Meciar, a nationalist who has been loosely compared to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, Croatia's late President Franjo Tudjman and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
The Hollywood-style raid, which made headlines around the world, dramatically underscored the polarization of Slovak politics and the fragility of Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda's governing coalition, a motley crew of 11 parties united by the sole aim of preventing the return to power of the authoritarian Meciar, 58. Indeed, the episode was an embarrassing reminder that despite recent successful efforts to catch the train to European Union membership, Slovakia could yet be derailed by its struggle between democracy and demagoguery. "Meciar is a typical Eastern European politician -- a populist, a demagogue, a strong and resolute hero for many ordinary Slovaks," said political scientist Rudolf Kucera of Charles University. "With the governing coalition starting to fall apart, we can't exclude the possibility that Meciar will make a comeback." Scandalous kidnapping Meciar, a burly former boxer, is a master at comebacks. His Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) remains the country's strongest party with an estimated 25 percent support despite a series of scandals and government collapses. About 3,000 supporters protested in Bratislava on Good Friday, the day after his seizure, calling Dzurinda a "Gypsy" and the police action Gestapo-like. Slovak police said they had seized Meciar over alleged illegal bonuses paid to his Cabinet ministers and charged him with abuse of office and fraud while in office. If proved, the crimes carry sentences of up to 10 years in jail. Released after nearly three hours, he also was fined 10,000 Slovak crowns ($225) for not answering questions about the kidnapping. Meciar, who had dodged subpoenas for a month, denied any wrongdoing. Citing amnesties he had given out in the case back in 1998, Meciar had repeatedly refused to answer questions over the 1995 abduction of Michal Kovac Jr., then 31. The president's son was reportedly tortured with electrodes attached to his genitals and dumped in Austria after being pumped full of whiskey and driven across the border in the trunk of a car. A subsequent investigation by Austrian authorities concluded that high Slovak government officials and the secret services were behind the crime -- a charge Meciar has long dismissed as absurd. An ardent nationalist long suspected of having strong ties with the secret police, Meciar rose to prominence after 1989. He helped engineer the split of Czechoslovakia and became independent Slovakia's first premier in 1993. But his government fell in March 1994 with many allies alienated by his style. Still, his newborn HZDS soared to victory in elections the next September and formed a new government with extremist parties. The new Cabinet won enemies abroad as it halted privatizations, passed a law to arrest government critics and abused Slovakia's large Hungarian and Romany populations. Meciar famously called the latter "mental retards." The EU and NATO decided in 1997 not to offer Slovakia membership. That blow proved too much, facilitating the fall of Meciar's government and galvanizing opposition parties to present a united anti-Meciar front and win the next elections in September 1998. After sobbing on national television in a farewell song to the country, Meciar said he would retire. But he again caught his detractors off guard by announcing his bid for the presidency in spring 1999. He lost that race to Kosice Mayor Rudolf Schuster, but the campaign was memorable for one of Meciar's trademark quips. During NATO's bombing of Kosovo, he said he had invited Milosevic to Slovakia for "a rest and some hunting," but that the Serbian strongman had replied he'd seen enough bloodshed. Now Meciar's aim is to topple Dzurinda -- not an unrealistic goal. The government barely survived a confidence vote April 17 when some of its members from the reformed communist Party of the Democratic Left voted against the Cabinet. The disgruntled leftists are reportedly upset over the social costs of tough economic reforms passed by the government, which is grappling with a fall in GDP and 20.1 percent unemployment -- the highest in Europe. Still, analysts agree that the coalition has little choice but to stick together if it is to continue to keep Meciar at bay. He already has collected 500,000 signatures to hold a referendum on early elections. While the final decision lies in President Schuster's hands, early polls would not guarantee the HZDS could muster enough support to form a coalition with other extremist parties. Since Meciar's removal from office, Slovakia's bid to join the EU in 2004 has won encouragement from Brussels and leaders in Britain, France and Spain. As for Meciar's arrest, opinions differed -- especially over its theatrics. But most observers said the government did well to make Meciar to respect the law and appear before police. But Vaclav Klaus, the former Czech prime minister who, with Meciar, helped split Czechoslovakia, blasted the raid. "To summon a former premier for questioning by means of a masked force which dynamites his door down is like a scene from a sci-fi movie or different planet," Klaus said. "We hear about these things in wild countries." Meciar called for a special session of Parliament to discuss his apprehension and vowed to seek the dismissal of the interior minister. His strong base of supporters is already gearing up for battle. "I'm ready to take up arms, if Meciar wants it," said an elderly woman at the Bratislava rally on Good Friday, where the featured slogan was: "The Jews crucified Christ. Dzurinda and company want Meciar." Ivan Remias's e-mail address is iremias@praguepost.cz
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