The Slovak Language Act - Just a matter of communication

   Everyday life, whether in the office, school, on the train, shop, or at home depends a great deal on communication. It is essential for us to function and most of all, to co-exist. We have created certain conventions on what is appropriate and when. Throughout generations, these conventions have been passed down the line, some have slightly changed, other replaced, where it was the general public initiating or approving these changes. When changes come (forcibly) from 'above', then a certain tension appears between the powers. In principle, mutual respect should be prevailing.
   Slovakia has recently passed a bill through Parliament, which - to say the least - has caused heated discussions. It is said to guarantee the access of information to all Slovak citizens; or to be more exact, that Slovak speaking citizens can insist on information in the Slovak language, especially when living in an area - like Southern Slovakia - where there is a considerable Hungarian speaking minority, and where Hungarian is commonly used. 
   Considering, I would enter a Hungarian supermarket, and would not be able to get through because of the language barrier, I could leave and find my way to a competitor, who is willing to accommodate. Simple enough I would say. In the event, you would deal with a municipality, then of course, such a directive would make sense. It should be noted, that personally I have never encountered any of such, so I will regard it as an academic discussion for now. Therefore, in order to 'protect' a person like me, who doesn't know any Hungarian, by law I have the right to insist on a Slovak document. To expand it a bit; even road signs, memorial tablets, billboards...

   Why the controversy then? There is a part of the law, which - even to me - raises some concerns. Firstly, it has pretty ambiguous directives and foremost, it states even considerable penalties. But in a broader light, one cannot help but get the feeling, that - despite of a practical logic for a state to stipulate the use of its national language - it is merely a tool used by the present government for other purposes. The Slovak-Hungarian relationship is very brittle, and to date an ongoing bickering between some nationalist politicians and the minority leaders is visible. Unfortunately.
   But especially this ambiguity has become increasingly a hot item: up to the point where Mr Vollebaeck of the OSCE was asked to step in. His verdict was immediately aired by the Government, and thus "affirming" that from the beginning the said Act is completely in line with international (European) standards. They forgot to mention one small detail; Mr Vollebaeck indeed came to such a conclusion, but mentioned that implementing sanctions might cause some distress. And that was - to some point - exactly one of the complaints of the Hungarian minority. Furthermore, the law in practice is so confusing, that the Mail System and the Ministry sent several contradicting explanations to each other, which was more than sufficient evidence.
   The question arises, why is government not sitting round the table with the opponents of the Law and openly discuss in order to clear the air and dispose of all misunderstanding? Clearly, it is not interested in a solution: The increase of scandals has become too embarrassing, and this Language Act could act like a distraction. Last week, both the Republic's President and the Prime-Minister were televised in a discussion programme. One remark made by the President, literally smashed his own windows; he stated that before signing the Act, he invited all involved parties (read: minorities) except the Hungarians, because he apparently "knew the outcome of their dialogue already". This is a political faux pas (but honestly, what could be expected from two politicians like this?), where he hardly realised how much he exposed his real face that moment.
   Causing tensions or erasing them is a matter of communications. If the goodwill is not there, perhaps at least an overall political responsibility should dominate. None of the present rulers have neither the sense of responsibility, nor the goodwill - albeit they continue to stress the contrary. The Language Act is therefore just a silly toy in a sandpit, where toddlers refuse to share it. This is not politics, this is a cheap soap opera. Cheap in quality, but heavily paid for. 

MS

The raging reporter...

   Many years ago, I acquainted myself with the works (and therefore the life) of Egon Erwin Kisch. Born in Prague during the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, he published in German and had a keen interest in reporting on certain social-related topics. One of his breakthroughs perhaps, was his coverage of the political scandal caused by the Alfred Redl espionage controversies in 1913.

   Kisch' life and his active anti-Nazi involvement, I shall not discuss fully, but what is worth to mention was his influence as a journalist to investigative reporting. Somehow, when we see throughout history, journalists have had a role to unveil misty scandals, monitoring justice, and you name it. In 1924 Kisch wrote a book, Der rasende Reporter, which in the end became his alias: The raging reporter. A couple of others colleagues can be mentioned, who have had influence on the course of history. How about Theodor Herzl on the Dreyfuss Affaire, or the joint efforts of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in the Watergate scandal?

   Why I refer to them? Currently, I see a disturbing trend, when following news on political events, and maybe even with news in general. In the event where million euros overspending is reported, public reacts with "don't they have anything better to write about? All this negative criticism", the Prime-Minister Fico frequently labeled journalists as "idiots" or "hyenas" and even wrongly creating a picture as if he is the victim of tabloid journalism (in my view, not very professional, even if one doesn't always like the confrontational question, but then:.. it's part of your job) while government spokespersons give unprofessionally inadequate answers at press conferences. It seems clearly here, that the role of the media is (too) poorly understood.

   With such a political setting - admittedly, with my West-European upbringing - I expect journalists to be double critical and find out the fullest truth behind every abuse or embezzlement scandal. Last night however, it was even shocking to see a TV-reporter getting a childish response from a spokesperson (being rather her own opinion, which was completely irrelevant to the matter, where a Ministry had acted against legal regulations). Yet, the journalist made no visible attempt to insist on either an adequate and professional answer or getting further to the source. Instead you get a picture, as if two inexperienced high-school actors enact a reporter's scene. As a viewer, you feel being mocked. There you get into a spiral, where there is hardly any respect for each other professional function.

   Yes, it is the journalist's duty, to inform public - in fact so is the governments, but if government fails, then the journalist is the last source to get things into the open.  And it worries me, that journalism has become almost without true critical approach, commitment and ethics. Exactly this is what Slovakia would urgently need, as a lot of disinformation - unfortunately from the government - gets into the media. Of course there are a few exceptions, of true investigative professionals, where a young reporter literally ear-bashed the PM's spokesman in front of the cameras for treating the reporters in such a disrespectful manner. Especially these serious journalists should also try giving a bit more effort to 'educate' broader public. Such a spirit is perhaps the only hope, where Slovakia might perhaps one day move into the right direction of becoming finally an open society.

   A complete opposite is, when switching to e.g. a French or a German TV channel, where on several occasions each week you find discussion programmes on politics or society with not only politicians and political analysts but especially writers, journalists and other public figures. There the role of newspapers and intelligentsia has still a dynamic influence. And mind you, politicians there carefully follow how they appear in the press and tend to listen to the public voices. Utilising a vital symbiosis. One great example: Katarína Ragáčová - the insistent reporter, whom I mentioned before - is currently Slovakia's raging reporter, and public, instead of complaining on journalists' involvement, should realise, how important journalism still is. It is a kind of quality control of your society.

MS

The new generations - part I: the Generation 40

   This year we will soon celebrate the 20th anniversary of the so-called Velvet Revolution. When looking back,1989 was indeed a revolutionary year; the Tien-An Men demonstrations of Chinese students for more democracy - which ended tragically in a massacre, Gorbatchev's perestroika was signing the destiny of communist ruled Eastern Europe - where a poorly managed church demonstration in East Germany unleashed slowly a whole exodus of people, through Hungary and Prague to the West - culminating in the end into the fall of the Berlin Wall, respectively in the whole Iron Curtain. Europe's political map was completely re-designed.

   Those, who at that time were about to start their 'professional' career are now in their forties. - therefore "Generation 40" for this part - Back then, perhaps because of adolescent rebellious attitudes, it was that (student)generation  which had perhaps a certain attitude, expectation and distrust towards the established ruling forces that caused them to be the litmus of how the changes would evolve. It is now still an age, where - at least in my case, being in my mid-forties - there lies much ahead of us, in which we perhaps have enough ideals and energy to address issues which we still would like to change. We witnessed certain things within our society going down in time. We noticed perhaps, despite irreversible changes, perhaps a slow return towards old structures, fighting against a more powerful (more powerful than individual politicians) Moloch of institutions, ministries, where the bureaucratic tradition was rampant like a virus, never to leave the organism. We have unfulfilled feelings, or are to the contrary completely satisfied.

   In 2009, I live in one of the countries belonging to former Czechoslovakia (later Czecho-Slovakia, the hyphen to illustrate the federal equality between the two nations). Slovakia has detached itself from Prague, to have its own future in their own hands. For their self-esteem, I would argue that it was a good decision - despite the negative economic effects at the onset. But severing the umbilical chord also meant that suddenly this society had to learn to bear responsibility for its own deeds and decisions. To air frustration at another ruler, be it in Prague, Budapest/Vienna or else-wise was no longer possible. 

   After 20 years some expectations didn't completely work out the way we envisaged them back then in 1989. Slovakia still suffers with wounds from centuries under Hungary, has not straightened out itself to be confronted with ethnic minorities on its territory, has inherited a state which didn't function for decades and is not easily reformed to move and - as a consequence of the latter - a hidden menace of unceasing corruption. I shall try to fathom the sentiments and explanations within the population in order to find a rationale for the current unsettling situation, and why the aforementioned lingering issues, which do form a serious threat to the country's stability, are still persisting. 


(to be continued)

MS

A new sound

Slovakia goes forth. Society, after centuries of Hungarian supremacy, the Habsburgs, totalitarian regimes and gaining independence from Prague, is still struggling to find its true place in history and to find peace with its own identity. Despite belonging to the 'democratic' bloc, political stability is far from reality. Through a hastened NATO-entry, EU membership, Schengen and Euro-zone, the outside looks blue with gold starred European. Yet the overall equilibrium is still wafer thin, while the true democratic foundation - the tradition of its constituents knowing their political rights -  is not just missing; it is furthermore leading to a kind of general public indifference. 

   From an outsider's perspective, this blog is an attempt to hold our every day's life a mirror and to ponder on trends within this society and to analyse developments. Are those trends natural, expected, questionable, or even to be condemned? Westerners have a different background - given by their specific historical past - yet we form the Western bloc, and certain adaptations are to be in place. Not to copy four-wheel drive cars, exclusive brands, but to put it explicitly; even a political ethical/moral conduct and expectations.

   It will be inspired by current affairs, input from friends, discussions and the like. For a wider accessibility, especially outside our region, I have decided to publish in the English language, to broaden the range of readers. In our modern, computerised and English-oriented world, this I presume, will hardly meet any objections. I am truly looking forward to meet my readers here. For sure, the first article(s) will come soon, as life is far from boring.

best regards from Pezinok,

MS