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Slovakia, still the ‘black hole’ of Europe
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Candidate
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| Contributor | IndyGeorgia |
| Last Edited | IndyGeorgia Mar 17, 2018 12:11pm |
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| Category | Opinion |
| Author | Mikuláš Dzurinda |
| News Date | Friday, March 16, 2018 06:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | BRATISLAVA — Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright once described Slovakia as the “black hole of Europe.” It was 1997: The son of then president Michal Kováč had been abducted and a key witness in the case, police officer Róbert Remiáš, had been murdered. Although the case was never solved, all evidence pointed to the involvement of the Slovak secret service.
I was reminded of Albright’s comment when I met her in Brussels just two weeks after the murder of young Slovak investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová.
The late nineties was arguably the darkest period of early Slovak statehood. Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar promoted a policy of silence and intimidated the media and his political opposition. Thankfully, a courageous opposition, a robust media and strong civil society derailed his plan: In fall 1998, Slovak citizens voted to move their country in a democratic and a clearly pro-western direction. In 2004, Slovakia joined the EU and NATO, and later became a member of the eurozone. No longer a “black hole,” Slovakia became a modern, reform-oriented and reliable partner of the West.
This image of Slovakia was shattered on February 26, the day Kuciak and Kušnírová were killed. After 20 years of modernization, economic convergence with Western Europe and growing social cohesion, Slovakia has returned to darkness once more. |
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