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Slovakia
The arrest of Vladimir Meciar
BRATISLAVA
1. It was either a blow for justice and an important signal, to be noted across post communist Central Europe, that nobody is above the law. Or it was a crude act of vengeance that could polarise and destabilize Slovakian politics. In any event, the arrest on April 20th of independent Slovakia’s longest-serving prime minister, Vladimir Meciar, was one of the most momentous events to have occurred since the country split from the Czech Republic seven years ago.
2. In a dawn swoop, masked commandos from a special unit that is supposed to stamp out organised crime dynamited Mr Meciar’s back door and took him away at gunpoint. Mr Meciar’s enemies, who say he turned the Slovak state into a crime racket, applauded. Yet the former boxer, who ran the country from 1993 until he was ousted in a general election in 1998, still had his old swagger. “Don’t be afraid,” he shouted out to supporters. “I’m not afraid.”
3. The day after his arrest, several thousand of his disciples, noting that it was appropriately Good Friday, descended on Bratislava, Slovakia’s capital, to hurl abuse at the country’s reform-minded prime minister, Mikulas Dzurinda. He was variously castigated as “the Pharisee”, “Judas”, “Pontius Pilate” and, less biblically, “you dirty little gipsy”. Mr Dzurinda will not mind the names if the judges can fulfil the promise, which helped bond his four-party coalition when it fought the election 18 months ago, to bring Mr Meciar to justice.
4. The architect of Slovakia’s independence was freed on bail after being charged with paying illegal bonuses worth $ 350,000 to his cabinet ministers during his time in office. If found guilty, he could get ten years behind bars. He may also be forced to give evidence in a case to do with the kidnapping in 1995 of the son of Slovakia’s then president, Michal Kovac. Government supporters say that Mr Kovac’s son was kidnapped by the Slovak secret service on Mr Meciar’s orders.
5. Could Mr Meciar’s arrest increase his popularity? Probably not – even though opinion polls have already been giving him more support than any other Slovak politician: a quarter still says they would like him to be prime minister again. Last year he won 43% of the vote in the presidential election, against a lacklustre ex-Communist, Rudolf Schuster, and the current head of state.
6. But Mr Meciar is also, ironically, Slovakia’s most disliked public figure. Two-thirds, according to the opinion polls, cheered his arrest. Even if his populist Movement for a Democratic Slovakia does quite well in the general election due in 2002, it is unlikely to find coalition partners to let him form a government. Only the far-right xenophobes of the Slovak Nationalist Party might consider backing him.
7. Still, whatever Mr Meciar’s fate, Mr Dzurinda has been worried. His coalition is dogged by infighting. He has failed to merge the five groups that make up his own bit of the coalition. Jozef Migas, parliament’s speaker, hitherto a dose ally who heads one of the coalition’s four parties, recently shook the government by casting a no-confidence vote against Mr Dzurinda in parliament.
8. The continuing exodus of the country’s Gypsies is also darkening the mood. Improving their lot is a prerequisite for Slovakia’s desired entry into the European Union. Belgium recently followed the example of several other EU countries by imposing visas on Slovak visitors, including even those who come regularly to Brussels to negotiate for Slovakia to join the club.
9. Still, despite the fragility of the government and the tensions heightened by Mr Meciar’s arrest, Slovakia is moving ahead. Austerity measures have made the government unpopular, but they are working. Unemployment, still 20%, is coming down. The economy is set to grow by around 3% this year. Foreign investment is up, with US Steel recently agreeing to shell out more than $ 400m to revamp the country’s biggest mill.
10. “The country is in better shape than Greece was when it joined the EU,” says Grogorij Meseznikov, who runs a leading think tank in Bratislava. While a growing number of Central Europeans outside Slovakia are having doubts about joining the EU, some 70% of Slovaks now say they want to get in. And for the first time a slender majority, against Mr Meciar’s fierce opposition, say that Slovakia should join NATO too.
THE ECONOMIST APRIL 29th 2000
Vocabulary
* to arrest: prender
* either: tanto
* blow: sopro
* signal: sinal
* to be noted: ser percebido
* across: através
* above: acima
* crude: cruel
* vengeance: represália, vingança
* any: qualquer
* longest – serving prime minister: primeiro ministro há mais tempo no cargo
* to split from: separar-se de
* in a dawn swoop: numa investida no amanhecer
* to be supposed to: ter como finalidade
* to stamp out: acabar com, destruir
* to take away: arrancar, tirar
* at gunpoint: sob a mira de uma arma
* enemies: inimigos
* to turn into: transformar
* former: ex
* to be ousted: ser destituído, ser derrotado
* swagger: arrogância
* to be afraid: ter medo
* to shout: gritar
* supporters: seguidores
* several: vários, diversos
* Good Friday: Sexta-feira Santa
* to descend on: rumar para
* to hurl: atirar / arremessar
* reform-minded: mente reformadora
* gypsy: cigano
* to mind: importar-se
* judges: jurados
* to fulfil the promise: cumprir a promessa
* to bond: firmar o compromisso
* party: partido
* coalition: coligação
* to fight: competir
* to be freed on bail: ser libertado sob fiança
* to be charged with: ser acusado de
* worth: valor
* guilty: culpado
* behind bars: atrás das grades
* kidnapping: sequestro
* then: então
* orders: ordens
* can (could): poder
* to increase: aumentar
* even though: apesar de
* polls: pesquisas
* already: já
* to support: apoiar
* still: ainda
* again: de novo, novamente
* to win: ganhar, vencer
* against: contra
* lacklustre: sem brilho, ofuscado
* current: atual
* head of state: chefe de estado
* also: também
* to dislike: não gostar de, rejeitar
* to cheer: comemorar
* to do quite well: ser bem sucedido
* to be unlikely to: ser improvável
* partners: companheiros
* to let: permitir
* far-right: extrema direita
* fate: destino
* to be worried: estar preocupado
* to dog: perseguir
* infighting: conflitos internos
* to merge: fundir
* to make up: compor
* bit: parte
* speaker: porta-voz
* hitherto: até agora
* a close ally: um aliado próximo
* to shake: balançar, melindrar
* to cast a vote: dar voto de Minerva
* to darken the mood: entristecer os ânimos
* lot: lote de terra
* entry: entrada
* to follow: seguir
* visas: vistos
* even: até mesmo
* to join the club: fazer parte do grupo
* despite: apesar de:
* heightened: exaltada
* to move ahead: ir em frente
* measures: medidas
* to work: funcionar
* unemployment: desemprego
* to come down: diminuir, baixar, reduzir
* to be set: estar prevista
* to grow: crescer
* foreign: estrangeiro
* to be up: estar em alta
* to agree: concordar
* to shell out: pagar
* to revamp: reconstruir, renovar
* mill: moinho
* shape: forma
* doubts: dúvidas
* to get in: entrar, fazer parte
* slender: pequena
* fierce: extremo, violento
* should: deveria
The arrest of Vladimir Meciar
01. According to the information in the article with respect to Vladimir Meciar, which of the following items is the only one not open to question?
a) The Slovak government, in a blow for justice, showed that even important criminals could be arrested.
b) The Slovak government made an illegal arrest motivated by vengeance.
c) Slovakia’s prime minister was arrested on charges of corruption.
d) Vladimir Meciar’s arrest was one of the most important events in the history of the Slovak people.
e) The arrest of Vladimir Meciar had been promised as part of a political campaign strategy.
02. You can infer from the information in Paragraph 2 that the phrase “Yet the former boxer… still had his old swagger” most likely means that
a) even when arrested at gunpoint, Vladimir Meciar was belligerent and ready to fight.
b) Vladimir Meciar intended to bribe his captors and for that reason was unafraid.
c) even when arrested at gunpoint, Vladimir Meciar retained his habitual self-assurance and price.
d) Unaware of any wrongdoing, Vladimir Meciar left his house convinced of his own innocence.
e) as usual, Vladimir Meciar used a public appearance for his own political benefit.
03. You can infer from information in Paragraph 3 that, with respect to Vladimir Meciar’s arrest,
a) Vladimir Meciar’s supporters found similarities between his situation and that of Jesus Christ.
b) Vladimir Meciar’s supporters believed that Mikulas Dzurinda was worse than a Jew or a Gypsy.
c) Mikulas Dzurinda and his judges fulfilled their campaign promise.
d) Vladimir Meciar’s supporters claimed that Mikulas Dzurinda was just as corrupt a Vladimir Meciar.
e) Mikulas Dzurinda was not at all bothered by the verbal abuse he received from Vladimir Meciar’s supporters.
04. According to the information in the article, the Slovak government has made the formal accusation that when Vladimir Meciar was prime minister, he
a) turned Slovakia into a criminal state.
b) made unlawful gifts of money to government officials.
c) ordered the kidnapping of the son of a Slovak president.
d) used corrupt and illegal means to keep Slovakia out of NATO.
e) illegally appropriated US$ 350,000 for his own use.
05. According to the information in the article, Slovakia owes, in large part, which of the following to Vladimir Meciar?
a) Its high crime rate
b) Its high unemployment rate
c) Its instability
d) Its independence
e) Its attractiveness to foreign investors
Respostas:
| 01. E | 02.C | 03. A | 04. B |
| 05. B |
