It can be argued, that power and the role of those who are in power has changed over the centuries. Was it only to control your property in the ancient times, nowadays, when we have painfully crawled out of the straight-jacket of absolutist monarchies and slowly introduced the rights for each individual citizen, our perception of the roles of states and their politicians is somewhat modified. As the basis nowadays is the overall public interest, government is responsible - answerable - to society how it is dealing with this responsibility. In the end, the citizen as the sponsor of the state, by means of taxation, is one of the stakeholders in the game. A logical consequence,... one might say. But is it?
Societies in the 'West', at least those where I had the privilege to dwell for a shorter or longer period, usually would follow such given. Of course, you always find a rotten apple somewhere, but that's usually on an exceptional basis. Once a politician 'screws up', where his reputation is disputable - even in the event, this is perhaps only because of an alleged controversy - his career is at risk, sometimes followed by resignation.
Yet Slovakia follows a completely different equation of power. Yesterday, we had the second round for the local government elections. For those who monitor the political scene, it is highly remarkable how things tend to go in the opposite direction. If you see that your sink is about to overflow, you turn off the water. Not so.
The present coalition government has without any scruples demonstrated that their sole interest in governing is not to secure public interest at all but nothing else than enriching themselves. Anything getting into the open - mostly accidentally - is opposed as a 'bad machination of the bad press to smear the reputation of the Republic', while meanwhile the whole tunneling simply continues.
Not only has the ruling Socialist party of Prime Minister Fico transgressed against several legal regulations during the aforementioned elections, causes that cost society billions of euros are defended for months and months. Hardly an image, that would make any western politician publicly credible enough to retain his title of a politician. It turns a politician straight into a a criminal. On top of it, Mr Fico has defended his political views with blatant lies about the pre-1989 period. Perhaps even to the post-1989 generation this is an obvious phantasy and for a politician a dangerous statement to make, when almost everybody can prove the opposite to be true.
Fico and his cohorts have cunningly put this scheme together; pass a law, which curbs free journalism, then slowly moving Minister of Justice Harabin (who had proven contacts with the drug mafia - should never have been a justice minister in the first place, let alone a supreme judge) into the post of presiding the Supreme Court: Suppress all negative publications - claims that are bringing newspapers to bankruptcy. The court procedures are obviously decided upfront (remember who rules the courts). In case it would end at the European Court (and one does not need to be a high shot lawyer to guess who will be reprimanded), any compensation will be paid out of the state budget (taxpayers' money) - the individual politicians will be the big winners.
What would you expect would happen in such a case? No, you are dead wrong; the result is that the ruling party remains a comfortable majority of around 40%. In other words, this game will go on for a while, till the national treasury chest will be empty. While EU commissions scrutinize potential new member states, Slovakia can continue its tunneling without any pressure from Brussels. So far. True is that several EU projects are currently under investigation, but the victim will be the Slovak taxpayer. 40% is quite an achievement! Politics without responsibilities. Just a horde of thieves. Wouldn't you be sad?
MS
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