MEDIA AND PUBLIC OPINION IN SLOVAKIA ON

UNCLAS BRATISLAVA 000187

SIPDIS


DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/PPD FSCHMADEL, EUR/ECA VLYNN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO PREL LO
SUBJECT: MEDIA AND PUBLIC OPINION IN SLOVAKIA ON
PRESIDENT'S TRIP



1. Summary: The President's visit to Slovakia was
generally perceived by media analysts and public
commentary as an expression of positive U.S.- Slovak
relations and of appreciation for Slovakia's support of
the U.S. in the war against terrorism, especially in
Iraq and Afghanistan. The meeting with the "Champions
of Freedom" and the public speech played well in
Slovakia, especially in contrast to Russian President
Putin's more traditional and formal program the
following day. As expected, visa policy received much
attention, and the crowd applauded when the President
mentioned it in his speech. Slovak commentators also
noted that the visit drew positive attention to
Slovakia's quick and successful progress towards
democracy. Negative aspects were some unseemly
bickering among Slovak leaders about the schedule and
post-speech criticism about the prohibition against
bringing signs and banners to the square. End summary.


2. Slovak media and think tanks extensively commented
on the President's visit to Europe, with the primary
focus understandably on his visit to Bratislava. The
February visit of President Bush was the first-ever
Presidential visit to Slovakia, so the bilateral
meetings with Slovak leaders attracted much local media
interest. However, the public speech remained the
center of attention for opinion leaders and the general
public, followed by the Bush-Putin meeting and joint
press conference.


3. Besides detailed and regular reporting on the
program of the President's visit, Slovak media
published a significant number of commentaries, written
not only by professional journalists, but also by
analysts from think tanks, as well as extensive reader
reaction.


4. The President's visit to Slovakia was seen as an
expression of positive U.S.- Slovak relations and as a
reward for Slovakia's support for the U.S. in its war
against terrorism, particularly in Iraq and
Afghanistan. The Slovaks clearly got the President's
message that his visit was meant to highlight
Slovakia's democratic transformation.


5. According to Slovak media, opinion leaders, and the
general public, the highlight of Bush's trip to Europe
was his address to Slovak citizens in the historical
center of Bratislava. This was clearly reflected in the
headlines of Slovak newspapers: "Bush: Slovakia an
example of the expansion of freedom" (Hospodarske
Noviny); "Bush: Your example is an inspiration for
others" (SME); "U.S. President surprises people with
his straightforwardness" and "Public on the speech: It
was propaganda, but it was nice" (Narodna Obroda).


6. All media, both print and broadcast, noted that
despite the cold weather, thousands of Slovak citizens
came to listen to President Bush's remarks. When
reporting on the content of the speech, several
commentators expressed great appreciation for the fact
that the President mentioned examples from Slovak
history connected with its fight for freedom and
democracy and presented Slovakia as a model of a
country that was able to change its story to one of
freedom. According to SME: "Bush sent the message to
the whole world that his America is ready to help any
country that shows an interest in freedom". SME in its
commentary presented his words that Slovakia is one
chapter of the same story of freedom and democracy,
followed by Georgia, Ukraine and in the near future
also possibly by Moldova and Belarus. However, there
was some resistance to the idea that the situation in
Iraq is comparable. As SME reported, "Bush tried to
persuade listeners that Iraq, too, is one of the
chapters of this story. He compared the free Iraqi
elections to the Velvet Revolution in the former
Czechoslovakia. Public reaction to this part of the
speech was rather reserved. The opinion that Iraq is
not another chapter of the same story, but a different
one, is quite widespread in Slovakia."


7. Media also frequently quoted the part of the speech
where President expressed great appreciation for the
participation of Slovak soldiers in Afghanistan, Iraq
and Kosovo.


8. The President received the most applause when he
mentioned that he understands that the visa issue is an
important factor in bilateral relations. SME


highlighted an excerpt from Bush's remarks to Slovak
citizens: "Hundreds of thousands of our citizens can
trace their roots back to this country. Slovak
Immigrants helped to build America and shape its
character."


9. Even before the visit, Slovak media - reflecting
public interest - devoted a lot of attention to the
possibility of granting the visa waiver to Slovakia.
Raising the issue at the Presidential level was seen as
a positive sign. As the daily Hospodarske Noviny said
in its commentary: "Never before has the U.S. President
spoken so openly on the visa issue. It seems that
Americans have started to understand that the visa
requirement make us second-class Europeans." Daily
Narodna Obroda also quoted Prime Minister Dzurinda
saying after his bilateral meeting with the President
that Bush himself opened this issue. The same article
presents President Gasparovic's comments that at their
meeting Bush mentioned that the U.S. has prepared a so-
called road map for visa regime liberalization. On the
same issue, daily SME quotes PM Dzurinda's remark to
President Bush: "When we speak about freedom, without
freedom of movement, it is only a partial freedom."


10. Overall, Slovak political analysts labeled the
speech as highly balanced, positive and professionally
well-prepared, according to the daily Hospodarske
Noviny. They also said it was an indication that the
main focus of President Bush's second term is the
expansion of freedom.


11. There were also some negative aspects of the visit
noted in analyses and in public comments. The
prohibition against bringing signs and banners to the
speech was criticized as an infringement on free
expression. There was considerable grumbling about the
tight security net that was thrown over a large part of
the city. Slovak media also reported the fact that
President Bush didn't visit the Slovak Parliament or
have a separate meeting with the speaker of Parliament
and some politicians' view that this represented a
politically motivated failure of the Slovak foreign
ministry.


12. Comment: The Slovak people went into the
Presidential visit with optimistic expectations. More
than two-thirds believed that it would enhance
Slovakia's international reputation, and more than half
thought it would help the Slovak economy. Slovaks are
generally gratified at the recognition they received in
the President's speech and by the fact that they were
chosen to host the Bush-Putin meeting. It was a rare
opportunity for them to be at the center of the world
stage.

THAYER


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