As I have elaborated on the absence of a unifying force, to effectively channel public's discontent in my previous blog-article, I would like to continue a bit to demonstrate a few indicators. In November 1989, the Eastern Bloc suddenly and unexpectedly opened its doors to the West. The opressed society was suddenly free to go and freely to express their opinion, without any repercussions from above any longer. But, a dog which has been maltreated and locked up all his life, and you let him loose, does not quite understand how to behave and will hardly be a suitable domestic companion.
The free Central Europe became suddenly a true Eldorado for anybody wanting quick money and in one of the streets in Prague where you saw bookstores, supermarket, 2 shoestores, a baker, a butcher and a pharmacy, the free privatised market replaced them in no time them 4 casinos, 3 money exchange booths, erotic shops, etc. Most of the new businesses were a bit murky, one could say. Fortunately, over the years it has stabilised a bit and the same street looks more civilised now. Yet, it was an interesting trend for sociologists, urban developers or anyone interested in political sciences.
Another visible aspect is the political scene; where one must keep in mind, that the old view was, that politicians where the one in power, and they decided for the people - a concept which is hardly different from the feudal times. A ruler simply has the divine role to rule, and the masses are not to question this. The new (democratic) role of politics is a bit different; the politicians are chosen by the people in order to represent them in the policy making process. As a voter you give your voice to a person, who has a limited mandate. The reverse side is, that if the representative fails his mandate or abuses his power, the voter has all the right to recall him - arguably even the moral obligation to do so.
Society has had 20 years of balancing on the cord, and it is not an easy process. Contrary to the Czech Republic, Slovakia is visibly still struggling. Reasons, why the struggle is somewhat tragic is, that the current government by Mr Fico, who took over in 2006, has clearly shown abuse of power. Despite the previous 8 years of Mr Dzurinda's cabinet, where there were some scandals too, corruption was decreasing; currently according to Transparency International, it has soared to surpass even all the corruptions before.
The judicial system, far from independent and tightly controlled by political figures, is one of the greatest concerns, which is hardly realised. Courts are not just abstract places where criminals are tried, they are equally the control mechanisms such that the state is not exceeding its powers - to safeguard the rights of citizens. Not only we ended up in a situation, that a citizen appealing to a court to amend injustice finds himself perhaps being double crossed as some judges act on directives from other source, even critical judges, who have warned for these practices, are being blackmailed and intimidated.
Concurrently, what is a second result of this: freedom of press is alarmingly at stake; not so much that there is formal censorship, but demanding huge compensations in courts for publishing mere facts are becoming standard practice. The burden is economically damaging the newspapers, make some editors think twice before publishing an article. This week, another failed project was criticised by Brussels and is not to receive any EU funding. A public TV reporter, who earlier made a documentary (initially it was not even aired for suspicious reasons), was sacked one day after the news broke out about the EU criticism.
If public confines itself in this milieu, where ruling politicians are not interested in them, keeping scandals covered, not solving real problems, where the opposition is too divided, the common languages is lost. Usual debates are missing or too technical. Such a society reverts to very down to earth expression of emotions, which one would rather find in pubs after several pints of beer.
When monitoring discussions on the internet - a great medium to gather information on this - it can be concluded, that articles with let's say a vulgar tendency tend to be more popular, as they appeal more to the anger and fear of people. The danger lurks, that massive groups will find their consolation in the extremist corners of society. A danger, which is not just theoretical - it can be spotted. Everybody wants change and the society needs change. But only a few realise, what lies behind some seemingly palatable rhetorics, and what the tragic long-term repercussions will be, when unleashing such sentiments.
Slovakia's democracy is very brittle as it has shown in the last months. The next few will be decisive. Keeping in mind, being in the EU is definitively not a guarantee to expect good governance. Much hard work ahead.
MS
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