Two months after the Dutch elections, coalition talks between potential partners have stranded before the weekend. Always a lengthy process, firstly to inform (advise) the head of state on possible coalition constellations, then based on the outcome the head of state is appointing a person in charge of forming a coalition, mostly becoming the designated prime minister. Well, the informative stage is to be repeated, revisiting all possible co-operation options. As one commentator in the Dutch daily Het Parool highlighted, a 'logical' coalition based on election results simply does not exist.
Some three weeks have passed since the installation of prime minister Radičová's government, and the media portrait a picture of a coalition that is failing. Ms Radičová and the Fico opposition partners, in their determination in order to form a government to end an era of corruption and nepotism, managed to form a government in a record time. Yet the press stress an seeming public disappointment, doom-scenarios of this coalition to implode, and the like.
The role of the press once again proves a slight hazard to the democratisation process; until the elections, mainly fulfilling the role of a subservient messenger of the Fico government - hardly capable to criticise (be it for professional reasons or simply being willingly submissive, currently this trend.
Neither roles are good, as the broad public is constantly bombarded with an unbalanced image, where it is hardly informed about true democratic processes, shortly to assume the opinion again how good it was in the old days.
The repetitious disinformation can become a high risk - which for society will have long lasting negative ramifications. Thorough democratisation of the education system (not merely school programmes, it includes also the coaching of teaching staff as a whole), the judiciary and the like will still take long. It will take too long, if public - that is, the constituents - have no clear idea what politics is all about.
The highest priority is to educate the media. Writing articles is hardly a past time activity for type-fanatics; it has a valid role serving the public interest. Such as politics is. Or else Slovak media will make this democracy far more shakier than it already is.
MS
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