Only a couple of weeks ago the key issue for Slovakia was how the national ice hockey team would fare in the world championship. The unimaginable happened: Slovakia was knocked out following a bitter series of lost matches. At the time of this writing, the key issue is whether Slovakia’s government under Iveta Radičová can survive, her future as unpredictable as the outcome of a hockey match. The only difference is that Radičová can imagine being defeated and is prepared to speak out about it. What is at issue is that on 17 May Slovakia’s parliament will make the umpteenth […]

The prime minister of my country, who happens to be the rotating president of the European Union, stressed the special importance of this year’’s Easter for all Hungarians in an article written for his favourite daily. This Easter, Mr Orbán announced we not only celebrate the rising of Jesus Christ along with the revival of nature in the springtime, but we also celebrate the resurrection of Hungary. Mr Schmitt, the Hungarian head of state, gave his approval on the new law in a televised appearance, after which Orbán declared the outcome to be the most modern constitution in Europe to […]

Before the first astronaut was sent into space, someone who could meet several ideological criteria had to be carefully selected to lend the enterprise a distinctive human face. Yuri Gagarin was chosen to be that man. After the explosion of the No. 4 nuclear reactor at Chornobyl (this is the Ukrainian form of the place-name) it was the countless liquidators who came to symbolize the disaster. There were a great many of them. It was no longer a single face. Robert Musil was right to claim that a man can’t be angry at his own time without suffering some damage. […]

Photo: Peter Župník I turn on the TV and hear the Večerníček [evening fairytale aired on Czechoslovak TV for decades] signature tune. As the picture of the kindly Grandpa comes into focus I wonder why the visuals seem suspiciously vibrant and expressive, and realize that the sing tune is announcing an advertisement instead of Večerníček. The advert is all about Grandpa’’s little house. A product offered by a certain bank has made its refurbishment possible. This is approximately what would have gone through my head, if I had really noticed that the familiar Večerníček cartoon intro, with which a whole […]

openDemocracy (Veľká Británia), 15.04.2011 Slávny filmový režisér Andrej Končalovskij sa v poslednom čase venuje písaniu politických komentárov. V tom poslednom vyzdvihuje zásluhy bývalého šéfa KGB Jurija Andropova, ktorý bol podľa neho skutočným architektom perestrojky a bol by ju realizoval oveľa úspešnejšie ako naivný Michail Gorbačov: “Celá myšlienka reformy a liberalizácie vyšla od Andropova. Ako šéf KGB mal najlepšie informácie o katastrofálnej ekonomickej situácii ZSSR. Keď sa stal hlavou štátu, mohol začať uskutoňovať plán, ktorý už dlhý čas pripravoval. Myslím, že Andropov Gorbačovovi nikdy plne nedôveroval. Patril k staršej generácii a nemal v úmysle zlikvidovať celý systém; maximálne bol ochotný uvažovať […]

Teraz je túto krajinu vidno najlepšie. Začína sa jar. Dni sú teraz dlhé a svetlé. Stromy ešte nemajú lístie, a tak výhľad nič nezakrýva. Krajina je nahá. Začiatkom jari je vidieť, že je hrdinská a dramatická. Mení sa, sťahuje zo seba kožu. Chvíľami je škaredá ako odhalená kostra. Všetky tie reklamy popri cestách, bilbordy, veľké farebné tabule, vychvaľujúce lacný tovar, monštruózne fotografie mäsa: pliecko 9,90, sedliacka klobása 16,90, kuracie filé… Lišaje ostrých farieb pokrývajú steny, zakrývajú stromy, nebo, krajinu. Všetky tie lákadlá, bez ohľadu na to, či ide o mäso, oblečenie, telefóny alebo vyučovanie jazykov – pôsobia rovnako pornograficky, sú […]

The discussion of Hungary’’s new constitution is in full swing. It is discussed both by politicians and the media. I’m not even sure if it’’s appropriate for a Hungarian to comment on this issue in a Slovak paper. However, I believe that the Slovaks are similar to the Hungarians. Hungarian and Slovak nationalism are mirror images of each other. They consist of similar nuts and bolts. These days the Hungarians are less interested in debating the constitution and care more about everyday issues. After all, people who are fascinated by consumerism are not that receptive to national symbolism and issues […]

Třináct procent Poláků je bez práce. Každému čtvrtému nezaměstnanému je mezi 18 a 24 lety. Každý čtvrtý nezaměstnaný ve Varšavě má diplom z vysoké školy. Méně než polovina Poláků (44 %) se během minulého roku setkala s knihou, přičemž 25% dotazovaných mělo vyšší vzdělání, 20 % Poláků s vyšším vzděláním nepřečetlo za poslední měsíc žádný text delší než tři strany. Celkově podíl lidí s vyšším vzděláním je v Polsku 20 %, což je méně, než činí průměr v zemích OECD (28 %). Od roku 2007 se z Polska natrvalo vystěhovaly přibližně dva miliony lidí, kteří odešli hlavně do Velké Británie […]

Photo: Peter Župník Libya. In Poland in the 1970s and 1980s the word sounded like an incantation. It sounded like Open Sesame. Qaddafi needed engineers, technicians and workers to modernize his country. Communist Poland started a long-term love affair with him, sending him workers. The Colonel’s revolutionary and anti-Western rhetoric made him appear like something of a political ally. However, for ordinary people it was the economy that counted. While the average salary in Poland at the time was the equivalent of 20 US dollars, the colonel paid (after a fee extorted by the communist administration) at least fifteen times […]

Líbya. V sedemdesiatych a osemdesiatych rokoch v Poľsku toto slovo znelo ako zaklínadlo. Znelo ako „Sezam, otvor sa”. Muammar Kaddáfí potreboval inžinierov, technikov, robotníkov na modernizáciu krajiny. Komunistické Poľsko s ním malo dlhoročný románik, ľúbostný vzťah a posielalo tam ľudí za prácou. Revolučná a protizápadná rétorika z plukovníka robila čosi ako politického spojenca. Ale obyčajní ľudia to videli ekonomicky. Priemerný plat u nás v tom čase dosahoval ekvivalent dvadsať dolárov, zatiaľ čo plukovník platil (po odrátaní vazalskej dane pre komunistickú administráciu) aspoň pätnásťkrát viac. Na vtedajšie poľské pomery to bolo Eldorádo, úplná Kolchida. O tom, že dostanú „zmluvu v Líbyi”, […]