NEW FM LAJCAK ON THE JOB; UNCLEAR HOW LONG HE WILL

S E C R E T BRATISLAVA 000048

SIPDIS

FOR EUR/CE KERTAS, JLAMORE, LLOCHMAN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/27/2029
TAGS: PREL PGOV LO
SUBJECT: NEW FM LAJCAK ON THE JOB; UNCLEAR HOW LONG HE WILL
REMAIN IN BOSNIA

REF: SARAJEVO 100

Classified By: Charge D'Affaires, a.i., Keith Eddins, for reasons 1.4 (
b and d)


1. (U) Summary: On Monday, January 26, President Gasparovic
formally appointed Miroslav Lajcak to replace Jan Kubis as
Slovakia's Foreign Minister. Lajcak, currently serving as
the EU Special Representative and High Representative in
Bosnia-Herzegovina, has stated that he intends to remain in
Sarajevo until his successor is selected to ensure the
continuity of the mission. Lajcak is a well-regarded,
apolitical diplomat who enjoys a good deal of international
recognition due to his work in the Balkans. We anticipate he
will continue to prioritize U.S.-Slovak ties within the
constraints of the Fico Administration. End Summary.


2. (C) Rampant press speculation about Jan Kubis's successor
as Foreign Minister was definitively resolved on Monday,
January 26, when President Gasparovic officially appointed
Miroslav Lajcak to the post. Lajcak accepted the position on
the condition that he be allowed to remain in Bosnia until
his successor is in place (or at least on track to arrive).
Precise details on how this "condition" will be implemented
remain unclear, however, and we discount press reports that
he could remain in Bosnia until March.


3. (S) After former FM Kubis's December announcement that he
intended to resign, we heard from several MFA contacts that
Lajcak was being considered, but that he took himself out of
the running because of his commitment to the OHR in
Bosnia-Herzegovina, where he has served since July 2007.
Press reports in early January indicated that MFA Political
Director Igor Slobodnik was the leading contender for the
post. Subsequent reports surfaced with allegations of
Slobodnik's fiscal mismanagement of the Slovak mission to
NATO, and we heard privately that Slobodnik and other career
diplomats being considered for the job were less than eager
to serve as PM Fico's Foreign Minister. They believe most
foreign policy decisions are made at the Government Office,
rather than the MFA, and that being a minister in a Fico-led
government could damage their long-term careers. We do not
know if Slobodnik was offered the job and refused, or if PM
Fico decided upon Lajcak because of his international
standing.


4. (C) Comment: PM Fico's selection of a new Foreign
Minister was undoubtedly delayed by the holiday season and
the gas crisis, yet we note that the tenor of the public and
private debate on Kubis's successor exposes the degree to
which serving the Fico Administration is seen by the
diplomatic corps as a hardship. We expect Lajcak will, like
his predecessor, face the challenges of explaining various
"personal" statements of the Prime Minister and xenophobic
outbursts by coalition partner Jan Slota, whose party views
Lajcak as too pro-American. Also, in welcoming Lajcak to the
job, PM Fico issued a difficult challenge (and a
none-too-subtle broadside at departing Minister Kubis): "I
expect from him a new phase at the Ministry, a period of much
greater activity in the economic and commercial fields. I
think Mr. Minister quickly understood that this is a
completely new period and that the Ministry must work in a
completely different way." Unfortunately for Lajcak, despite
almost three years of efforts to develop an understanding
between the Foreign and Economic Ministries on how a
commercial/economic function would be carried out (and by
whom),almost no progress has been made.


5. (C) Comment, cont.: While we note with interest (and some
concern) the assessment of our colleagues in Sarajevo of
Lajcak's performance at OHR, he is certainly viewed here as
one of the more capable (and ambitious) diplomats in the
Slovak Foreign Service. His experience in the Balkans can be
expected to give impetus to greater and more coherent Slovak
activism in the region and could invest him with the gravitas
needed to stand up, when necessary, to PM Fico.
EDDINS