Slovakia as a constitutional state has ceased to exist. A European country, a full member of the EU, the Euro-zone and the Schengen Area, has within 4 years become again a state, which does not meet many EU standards, as were stipulated as preconditions for its membership. One of the reasons has been a certain level of complacency brought along by - ironically enough - the very same membership.
Regardless of Slovakia's past, there is absolutely no excuse of the grave deterioration of basic democratic principles. It is one of my greatest concerns, however, that seeing serious breaches of standards only to be addressed by a blogging community, rather than a massive media attention be it from so-called watch-dogs or other institutes, of which one would expect such knowledge or tools. Politicians from the opposition sometimes keep quiet, because they might feel it would unnecessarily politicise the problem (oh? - a highly politicised judicial system and the police force is enough reason to address it politically as well), so called think tanks do not want to overly get involved into political discussion - avoiding to be accused of working for a certain political stream or specific party (why?), and journalists either do not identify it as a problem or fear being immediately sacked when bringing this into the open, or otherwise face huge compensations from the poor criticised politicians through pretty predictable court cases. It remains mysteriously hidden.
All in all, it is a spiral, that goes dangerously fast downwards and has crossed a certain limit. One argument being used - in my eyes incorrectly - is that society must solve these issues by itself. The broad public, however, is not fully aware of its rights, and nobody continuously reminding them, is hardly going to improve this position they are in. Education is the most neglected, and thus the one that should have played a role, which it simply cannot fulfil.
Ever since the entry into the EU, most institutes that until than have been active in monitoring the democratisation processes, like e.g. the Helsinki Committee, have stopped their activities. Being in the EU seemed enough proof of compliancy. But equally, as passing your driving test is not a guarantee, that the driver will remain a responsible road user, a state with such a brittle tradition in democracy, should be monitored even the more.
Still, there are some minor, some bigger, organisations dealing with these matters. As a relatively skilled internet user, I am quite able to search for any hidden files, texts, or whatever. Searching for materials on Slovakia's democratic ventures, is not the easiest job. For the average citizen, it is therefore a completely hidden area, for whom the whole discussion is more than only an academic one.
In my view, violating democratic principles, perhaps may be regarded as a political issue, equally they are of consequence to the whole civic society. The third sector, in such a case, should definitively not hide behind its so-called 'a-political' façade to imply a certain impartiality. They possess the institutionalised intellectual know-how, and from this it follows, that it is their civic duty per sé to jump into this discussion vacuum.
It reminds me of a canal, where someone fell into; a large group of people is standing around watching the victim drowning. Some discuss, whether to call the police, the ambulance or the fire department. The only way to help is for someone to jump. Now!
Meanwhile, Slovakia is a drowning victim. When to act then? Now! Since passivity kills.
MS
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