SLOVAKIA POLITICAL ROUNDUP, DECEMBER 23, 2005

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRATISLAVA 001010

SIPDIS


FOR EUR/NCE AND EUR/OHI JBECKER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/24/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KIRF KPAO SOCI UP BO LO
SUBJECT: SLOVAKIA POLITICAL ROUNDUP, DECEMBER 23, 2005

REF: BRATISLAVA 979

Classified By: CDA a.i. Lawrence R. Silverman for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (
D).

MUD-SLINGING GETS TASKED OUT FOR COMING ELECTIONS
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1. (C) NGO Obciansko-demokraticka mladez (Citizens'
Association for Democratic Youth) has made a deal with
center-right parties SDKU and KDH to act as their official
mud-slingers / Smer fact-checkers in the upcoming
parliamentary campaign. During the 2002 campaign,
Obciansko-demokraticka mladez ran adds encouraging a vote for
any of three right-wing parties, in addition to a negative
campaign comparing Smer leader Robert Fico to the former
Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar. In the 2006 national
election campaign they will focus exclusively on tarnishing
Fico and Smer. Maros Kemeny, Chairman of
Obciansko-demokraticka mladez, told Poloff that the goal was
to allow SDKU and KDH to focus on positive campaigns, thus
keeping open the option of a post-election coalition with
Smer. Obciansko-demokraticka mladez's campaign will be aimed
at Smer's mostly young supporters and will heavily feature
web-based cartoons and ads, stickers and "outreach" by
attractive young people in Slovak bars. The first web-based
cartoon should run in late January, and will parody Fico's
1992 trip to Cuba, during which he allegedly called Cuban
leader Fidel Castro his "political idol."

IRAQ MINI-SERIES MAY HAVE POLITICAL MOTIVES
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2. (C) Kemeny, who also serves as the Director of the
Communications Bureau at the Ministry of Defense, said that a
three-part mini-series produced by the MoD and emphasizing
the good work Slovak troops are doing in Iraq (clearing
mines, protecting school children, helping to stabilize
society) will begin airing on the popular Markiza television
station in January. Kemeny said the mini-series is part of
an effort to gain support for troops. If it succeeds, he
will be able to use Robert Fico's publicly expressed
opposition to the war in Iraq against the Smer party in the
upcoming elections. (COMMENT: This "dual use" of the Iraq
mini-series is notably in its decidedly political goal for a
publicly-funded program. END COMMENT)

NATIONAL MEMORY INSTITUTE TO RELEASE JEWISH PROPERTY INFO
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3. (SBU) The Institute for National Memory began on
December 16 to publish information on the confiscation of
property from Jewish victims in Slovakia during World War II.
The Director of the Institute told the media that the
property confiscated from Slovak Jews is estimated to be 38
percent of the then-Slovak state's national wealth. Local
Jewish community leaders tell us that the publication will
not likely spawn a new wave of restitution claims. We have
heard rumors that KDH influence in the Institute will result
in a decision not to publish the identities of the wartime
"aryanizers" who received property. Reportedly, this first
round of publications was already delayed, allegedly due to
pressures from KDH circles, who don't want to see names of
their ancestors on such lists. Whether or not the names of
beneficiaries are ever published, this is an important
project for Slovaks to understand their history and reach
reconciliation with the past.

DS APPROVES MERGER WITH SDKU
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4. (C) The center-right Democratic Party (DS) narrowly
voted to approve a merger with the Slovak Democratic and
Christian Union (SDKU) at its annual Party Congress on
December 17. Of 168 delegates who took part, 102 voted in
favor, 60 against, and six abstained. The proposal required a
three-fifth majority (101 votes) to be approved. SDKU's
Party Congress is expected to approve the merger in a
formality vote at their own Congress in January. Kemeny, a
member of DS, told us that he voted for the merger, and
believes that support was wider than the vote tally
indicates. He said those who voted in favor strongly
supported the merger, while most who voted against were
merely expressing sentimental attachment to DS. Kemeny
further stated that DS has more "thinkers" and academics than
SDKU but that for reasons of finance, organization and chance
these people have not been able to contribute fully because
of the marginalization of DS from national politics. Merger
with SDKU should allow such people (among whom he counted
himself) more ability to influence Slovak society. (COMMENT:
Due to poor poll numbers and a desire not to split the
center-right vote, DS encouraged its voters to support SDKU
just days before the 2002 Parliamentary vote. END COMMENT.)

NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, LISKA OUT AT MOD
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5. (C) Kemeny also told us that Defense Minister Liska
won't remain at MoD after the 2006 election. According to
Kemeny, MoD, as the best funded Ministry, should definitely
go to the strongest coalition party or the "essential second"
that has to be brought in to consolidate power. Kemeny didn't
believe that Liska's party, SDKU, would be either of those,
and further said that Liska isn't interested in staying in
the position anyway. (NOTE: A November expose by Slovak
daily SME (notorious for being anti-GOS) ran front-page
photos of Liska playing a leisurely round of golf during a
work day, a pastime that is rumored to be common for the
Minister. END NOTE)

SLOVAKAID MAY HELP REDISTRICT UKRAINE
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6. (SBU) Viktor Niznansky, the GOS Plenipotentiary for
Public Administration Reform and President of the MESA 10
think tank, is working on expanding programs on public
administration reform in the Ukraine. Niznansky, who works
in partnership with the USG-funded Research Triangle
Institute (RTI) and who has traveled several times to Kiev,
submitted a proposal to SlovakAid for a USD 145,000 project
to transfer Slovak expertise in this area to Ukraine. The
project would create study tours for Ukrainian experts to
come to Slovakia, organize a series of public discussions in
Ukraine, create an expert team with RTI, and would coordinate
with the Ukrainian Association of Towns. Ukrainian
colleagues have specifically requested help with is the
administrative re-districting of Ukraine, a huge challenge
because of the lack of land registry (cadastre).

NGOS CONCERNED WITH INCREASED SLOVAK AID FOR BELARUS
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7. (C) When asked about the reported plans to significantly
increase Slovakia's aid budget for Belarus (reftel),Balazs
Jarabik from Slovakia's activist Pontis Institute (who
himself has been blacklisted by the Lukashenko regime) told
us that he fears that the GOS plan will take money out of the
pockets of NGOs. Jarabik said that MFA State Secretary Jozef
Berenyi has his "heart set" on purchasing a large and
expensive printing press in eastern Ukraine to be used by the
Belarusian opposition. Jarabik feels this would not be the
most effective use of Slovak money, as the Belarusian
government has the ability to quickly intercept publications
from abroad either at the border or in the mail.

HUNGARIAN PRESIDENT "SHIEST I'VE EVER SEEN"
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8. (C) Presidential Foreign Affairs advisor Jan Foltin, a
career diplomat, told Poloff that the recent visit of new
Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom revealed the "shiest world
leader" Foltin had ever met. Despite the sizable Hungarian
minority in Slovakia, Foltin said that Solyom decided against
doing any "large venue" events or major speeches.
SILVERMAN


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