HUMAN
RESOURCES
On sale now
NEWS
Highways boss fired
Transport Minister Ján
Figeľ fired National High-
way Company boss Alan
Sitár on May 12, shortly
after allegations that he had
approved overpriced pur-
chases of training and con-
sultancy.
pg 2
Transpetrol leak
Leaked US diplomatic cables
suggest the US government
advised Slovakia on its re-
purchase of Transpetrol,
but former economy minis-
ter Ľubomír Jahnátek has
disputed the reports.
pg 3
OPINION
The Radičová Code
Political conspiracy theories
have a certain irresistible
charm and Smer boss Robert
Fico is not the kind of politi-
cian who can resist them,
especially when they guar-
antee widespread publicity.
BUSINESS FOCUS
pg 5
Working in Austria
As of May 1, Slovaks are no
longer restricted from
working in Austria and
Germany. But analysts
warn that many hoping to
work there lack good Ger-
man or other needed skills.
pg 6
Glimmers of hope
The Slovak economy is
showing clear signs of re-
covery. This has been reflec-
ted in the labour market
and in more business for
human resources compan-
ies, say HR industry ex-
perts.
pg 7
CULTURE
Books about Slovakia
Owen R. Johnson reviews
another clutch of recent
academic works focused on
Slovakia and its historical
development.
pg 11
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Vol. 17, No. 20
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen visited Slovakia on May 19. At a press conference at the Foreign Af-
fairs Ministry he made statements directed at Russia, saying he hopes for good relations with that country and
wants cooperation between Russia and NATO on the latter's missile defence shield project. While in Bratislava,
Rasmussen met Slovak government representatives including Prime Minister Iveta Radičová (above) .
Radičová stays as
Trnka fails again
DOBROSLAV Trnka, the former
general prosecutor whose bid to
retain his position has been sup-
ported by the opposition Smer
party, failed to secure the job in
a secret ballot of MPs on May 17.
By rejecting Trnka, whose previ-
ous term as general prosecutor
elapsed on February 2 this year,
ruling coalition MPs apparently
heeded a threat by Prime Minis-
ter Iveta Radičová to resign if
Trnka, about whom she has ex-
pressed strong reservations, were
to prevail.
While the ruling coalition cel-
ebrated the outcome of the vote,
calling it good news for Slovakia,
Smer alleged that MPs were in-
GDP growth nears pre-crisis levels
BY BEATA BALOGOVÁ
Spectator staff
SLOVAKIA will continue crossing its
fingers for continued economic
vigour in its biggest trading partner,
Germany, which surpassed expecta-
HUF 267.97 tions by recording 4.8 percent GDP
JPY 116.83 growth in the first quarter of 2011.
PLN 3.93 While still slightly lagging German
USD 1.43 growth, Slovakia also generated some
very optimistic economic numbers –
close to the rate of growth registered
before the financial and economic
crisis. The International Monetary
Monday, May 23, 2011 - Sunday, May 29, 2011
BY BEATA BALOGOVÁ
Spectator staff
structed how to vote, despite in-
dividual ballots supposedly being
confidential. Smer leader Robert
Fico claimed that a strategy,
which he dubbed ‘Radičová’s
Code’, had been used to influence
the voting of coalition MPs.
Trnka, the only candidate,
won the support of 70 of the 150
deputies present; 17 voted against
him; 29 abstained from voting
and there were 34 invalid votes. A
simple majority of MPs present –
76 – would have been necessary to
Fund (IMF) predicted that the Slovak
economy will be among the fastest
growing economies of the European
Union over the next two years.
Slovakia’s GDP grew by 3.5 per-
cent year-on-year in the first quarter
of 2011, similar to its pace during the
final three months of 2010. On a sea-
sonally-adjusted basis, the Slovak
economy grew by 1.0 percent from
the last quarter of 2010, the Slovak
Statistics Office reported in its flash
estimate released on May 15. Though
the Statistics Office has not published
detailed information on the strongest
growth areas, economic experts do
not expect any big surprises.
Photo: ČTK
secure his victory. Trnka made no
immediate comment after the
vote but Fico encouraged him to
once again challenge the conduct
of the secret ballot at the Consti-
tutional Court. The May 17 ballot
was a re-run of a previous secret
vote held in December which was
ruled unconstitutional by the
court after a challenge by Trnka.
“The government in its pro-
gramme defined its goals as being
to increase the trust of citizens in
the rule of law, increase the en-
forceability of law, and fight
against corruption and cronyism,”
Radičová said in a statement.
See VOTE pg 2
“We assume that growth has
again been fuelled mainly by for-
eign demand,” Boris Fojtík, an
analyst with Tatra Banka, stated,
adding that large investments
are also in the pipeline for Slov-
akia and that these investments
will likely be positive items when
the detailed report on GDP
growth is released.
Ľubomír Koršňák, an analyst
with UniCredit Bank Slovakia,
noted as well that “Slovakia’s most
significant business partners have
been doing well.”
See UP pg 4
FOCUS
of this issue
Coalition
unrest over
'no' for Paluda
BY MICHAELA TERENZANI
Spectator staff
JUST AS tension within the coalition was
rising as a result of the fraught selection
of the next general prosecutor (though
that somewhat eased after a vote on May
17; see main story), another disputed
nomination has generated yet more
trouble. The post of the head of the Na-
tional Security Office (NBÚ), Slovakia’s
main security vetting agency, remains
vacant despite the fact that Freedom and
Solidarity (SaS) has already proposed two
candidates. Observers warn that contin-
ued failure to fill the post could prompt
more tension and risk further reducing
trust among the coalition parties.
It had seemed that nothing stood in
the way of the most recent SaS nominee,
Supreme Court judge Peter Paluda. As
well as his long record as a senior judge,
he has served as Slovakia’s representative
to the EU's justice organisation, Eurojust,
and is a staunch critic of controversial
Supreme Court head Štefan Harabin.
As well as SaS, two other parties in the
four-party coalition, Most-Híd and the
Christian Democratic Movement (KDH),
had said they supported his nomination –
and Prime Minister Iveta Radičová, of the
Slovak Democratic and Christian Union
(SDKÚ), said Paluda was an acceptable
candidate for her as well.
See NBÚ pg 9
‘Cannibal's’
likely victims
found buried
THE SWISS citizen whose call to police
led to the apprehension of an alleged
cannibal in eastern Slovakia earlier this
month may not have been the man’s first
intended victim.
Evidence left behind by the
‘cannibal’, whose story shocked Slovakia
and attracted media attention world-
wide, led Slovak police on May 17 to a
woodland grave containing the remains
of two people who they believe were
probably his previous victims.
On May 10 an undercover team
swooped on an area near Kysak, a village
near Košice, after learning that a local
man was planning to kill and eat a Swiss
citizen with whom he had made an on-
line pact. The police operation was not a
complete success: the suspect, later re-
vealed to be Matej Čurko of nearby Sokoľ,
was armed and both he and a police of-
ficer were seriously injured in the ensu-
ing shoot-out. The suspect died of his in-
juries two days later.
See BODIES pg 3
2 May 23 – 29, 2011 NEWS

Highways chief fired

Putin visits Slovakia, meets PM
HIGH on the agenda in the
talks between Slovak Prime
Minister Iveta Radičová and
her Russian counterpart
Vladimir Putin on May 13 were
supplies of Russian natural
gas and the ‘letter of invita-
tion’ sent in 1968 that led to
the Warsaw Pact invasion of
Slovakia, the SITA newswire
reported.
Radičová reported that
Putin gave assurances there
will be no repeat problems
with Russian natural gas sup-
plies and that he considers the
diversification of natural gas
supply routes to be very im-
portant in preventing a simil-
ar situation to that which oc-
curred in 2009. The prime
ministers also spoke about the
Druzhba crude-oil pipeline
and other new energy routes
under preparation.
Prime Minister Radičová
also raised the issue of the
‘invitation letter’ sent to Mo-
scow in 1968 and said that
Putin understood her argu-
ments and is willing to
provide specific documents,
if they exist, to Slovakia. The
prime ministers also dis-
cussed the broad-gauge rail-
way project that is under
consideration, nuclear en-
ergy and its future,
Slovakia’s cyclotron centre
and military technologies
and licences.
During his brief visit to
Bratislava Putin also lobbied
a meeting of the Interna-
tional Ice Hockey Federation
in favour of his country's bid
to hold the Ice Hockey World
Championship in 2016. Rus-
sia was later given the right
to hold the competition.
BY BEATA BALOGOVÁ
Spectator staff
QUESTIONABLE procurement
practices have led to the dis-
missal of National Highway
Company (NDS) boss Alan
Sitár. Transport Minister Ján
Figeľ fired him on May 12
shortly after the minister and
several media outlets received
anonymous whistle-blowing
letters that described al-
legedly overpriced purchases
of training and consulting
services that had been ap-
proved by Sitár for the state-
run firm.
Prime Minister Iveta
Radičová praised Figeľ’s move
and said that sacking Sitár was
a difficult but correct decision.
Figeľ’s predecessor, Ľubomír
Vážny, a Smer nominee, said
the recall did not solve any-
thing within the NDS.
Alan Sitár
Sitár, who was shown the
door without being offered
any pay-off, said he was dis-
appointed and defended the
deals in question.
Figeľ, who is also the lead-
er of the Christian Democratic
Movement (KDH), one of the
Photo: TASR
four governing coalition
parties, said that he re-
peatedly checked complaints
pertaining to the purchase of
external services and “despite
the fact that it was in line
with the law, I did not con-
sider it ethical”.
Radičová commented
that in politics and the man-
agement of the state it is not
enough to enforce laws: offi-
cials’ conduct must also have
an ethical dimension, the
SITA newswire reported. She
added that in the current
post-crisis period, with the
ongoing effort to save public
money, funds should have
not been handled in the way
they were by the NDS.
The NDS had said earlier
on May 12 that it was about
to cancel some of the deals
and orders, except those per-
taining to the construction
of highways which had been
approved before the
amendment to the law on
public procurement became
valid on April 1, 2011. The
amendment made public
procurement rules much
tighter.
See NDS pg 5

Nurses present petition to parliament VOTE: Fico urges return to court

NURSES and midwives wear-
ing black gathered in front of
Slovakia’s parliament build-
ing on May 17 to draw MPs’
attention to the working
conditions and low salaries of
medical staff. A petition titled
'If we don't care about
ourselves, who will care for
you?', signed by 240,000
people over the past two
months, was presented to
Speaker of Parliament
Richard Sulík.
Mária Levyová, the pres-
ident of the Slovak Chamber of
Nurses and Midwives (SKSPA)
told journalists that the
nurses were very disappoin-
ted with Sulík's reaction. She
said Sulík started the meeting
by telling the nurses that the
bus they had travelled in was
blocking the access road to the
parliament building.
“It isn't possible to react
so light-heartedly to the de-
Alcohol and cannabis use surveyed
STUDENTS at primary
schools are drinking alcohol
more often than in past
years and a significant
number of 15-year-olds ad-
mitted that they had
smoked cannabis and that it
is not difficult to obtain in
Slovakia. These are some of
the findings from an inter-
national study researching
the behaviour of pupils aged
11, 13 and 15, the TASR
newswire reported.
This particular study was
part of the Health Behaviour
in School-aged Children (HB-
SC) project conducted in col-
laboration with the World
Health Organization’s Re-
gional Office for Europe.
It collected data from
over 4,000 respondents in the
three age categories in Slov-
akia. According to the study,
one fifth of the Slovak boys
and one tenth of the Slovak
mands of the Slovak people,”
Levyová stated, as quoted by
the TASR newswire, adding
that she found Sulík's beha-
viour to be arrogant.
Viliam Novotný, the
chairman of the parliament’s
health committee, also met
the representatives and as-
sured them that their situ-
ation would definitely be
taken seriously, the TASR
newswire wrote. Novotný
said MPs understand the de-
mands of nurses and mid-
wives and will make suffi-
cient efforts to make sure
that the petition does not end
with parliament only ac-
knowledging it and doing
nothing more.
The demands in the peti-
tion include, for example, an
increase in the hourly wage
from the current rate of €4.50
per hour or less, and for re-
tirement at the age of 58.
girls admitted to having tried
cannabis. Slovakia first par-
ticipated in the research
study in 1993-1994.
As many as 74 percent of
the respondents who were
age 11 said they had not been
prevented from buying alco-
hol because of their age.
The authors of the study
stated that alcohol consump-
tion was a risk issue in the
population of pupils and that
gender differences in alcohol
consumption and tobacco
use had nearly disappeared.
“Four years ago there
were gender differences,
now there are none,” said
Andrea Madarasová Gecková
of the Košice Institute of So-
ciety and Health, who
headed the HBSC research
team in Slovakia.
Compiled by Spectator staff
from press reports
Continued from pg 1
“Change in the management of the
prosecution is one of the key steps to ful-
fil these obligations and thus also in-
crease the quality of life of citizens for a
healthy and just Slovakia.”
In a surprise move just before the
vote, the ruling coalition’s nominee for
the post, Jozef Čentéš, announced on
May 13 that he would not run in the
secret vote. He explained his move by
saying that the vote had been linked to
allegations of MPs being blackmailed
and bribed and that he did not want to
be part of it any more. He rejected the
notion that anyone had influenced his
decision.
The complications
Complications around the secret bal-
lot emerged after the ruling coalition
failed on December 2 to have Čentéš se-
lected as general prosecutor after at least
six coalition deputies used the anonym-
ity of the secret ballot to vote with the
opposition Smer party in favour of
Trnka. Trnka missed out on reselection
by just one vote on that occasion, and the
disloyalty of the coalition MPs opened
the door to speculation about a plot to
unseat the prime minister, who had
promised to resign if Trnka were chosen.
The ruling coalition has gone to con-
siderable lengths to turn the previously
secret ballot method used to select the
general prosecutor into a public, recor-
ded vote. But the Constitutional Court,
in a decision published on April 20 in re-
sponse to a case brought by Trnka, ruled
that his constitutional rights had been
violated during two of the parliament-
ary votes last year.
According to the court, the violation
happened when deputies revealed how
they had voted in the secret ballot, by
photographing their ballots or openly
declaring whom they had supported. By
doing so, the court found, the deputies
violated the basic principles of the secret
ballot and thus Trnka’s rights. As a res-
ult, despite a law passed in the interim
to make future votes public, MPs held
another secret ballot.
The ruling coalition declared that the
May 17 vote had been regular and secret.
“The deputies respected the stricter
measures and the vote really was
secret,” the Christian Democratic
Movement’s (KDH) Pavol Hrušovský
said, as quoted by the SITA newswire. He
added that there could be no doubt about
the vote which would justify a challenge
on the grounds that it had violated par-
liamentary rules.
The chairman of the Slovak Demo-
cratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ),
Mikuláš Dzurinda, said he was satisfied
that parliament had fulfilled the re-
quirement defined by the ruling of the
Constitutional Court.
Fico spies ‘Radičová’s code’
“All coalition clubs and one faction
marked their ballots in such a way that it
was possible to control how each club
voted,” Fico said, describing what he
called ‘Radičová’s code’.
According to Fico, 18 deputies marked
their ballots diagonally, which corres-
ponds to the number of Freedom and
Solidarity (SaS) deputies. The Ordinary
People faction marked their votes as both
‘against’ and ‘abstain’, he said. Members
of the Most-Híd party, according to Fico,
marked their ballots horizontally, and
deputies of the KDH voted against Trnka.
Fico concluded by saying that SDKÚ MPs
abstained, SITA reported.
Fico also said that one extra deputy
marked his or her ballot in the same
way as the SDKÚ. He alleged that the
mechanism employed was only work-
able provided Čentéš did not run and
that if he had remained in the race the
deputies would have not been able to
use ‘Radičová’s code’.
Smer has called for Trnka to turn
again to the Constitutional Court, with
Fico suggesting that Trnka should seek a
preliminary decision that would ban an
open vote on the job until a ‘regular’
secret ballot is held.
The Smer boss has expressed voci-
ferous opposition to a public vote for the
general prosecutor post, describing it as
‘undemocratic’ and even going so far as
to suggest that if he were president he
would refuse to appoint a candidate se-
lected by means of an open vote.
Meanwhile doubts emerged about
whether Čentéš, following his with-
drawal from the secret ballot, would still
have the support of the whole coalition
in a public vote to select a general pro-
secutor. KDH boss Ján Figeľ said that
Čentéš could be one of the nominees for
the joint candidate, but KDH MP Pavol
Abrhan told Slovak Radio that Čentéš’
decision to withdraw his candidacy
from the secret ballot meant he had lost
Abrhan’s trust.
Dzurinda on May 18 said that he
could not say if Čentéš would continue
to be the joint candidate of the ruling
coalition.
“What I recorded in my head is a
wide agreement among the ruling coali-
tion that our joint candidate is Dr
Čentéš,” Dzurinda said as quoted by
SITA. “The SDKÚ respects this
agreement.”
Mesežnikov: Čentéš has a chance
Parliament has meanwhile broken a
presidential veto over a change to par-
liamentary rules that makes it possible
to select the prosecutor via a public vote.
“I expect the coalition will need a
few weeks for the coalition to either
confirm Čentéš as their candidate or to
select another,” Grigorij Mesežnikov,
president of the Institute for Public Af-
fairs think tank, told The Slovak Spec-
tator. “After all these experiences and
the circumstances of the secret vote,
which have indeed been very bitter and
unpleasant, the coalition should learn
from what has happened and make a
very fast decision about a joint candid-
ate, Čentéš or someone else.”
Mesežnikov believes that Čentéš still
has a chance.
“It would be good for them to elect
the new general prosecutor fast and
not let Fico turn to the Constitutional
Court with his nonsense statements,”
Mesežnikov said.
Otherwise, the Constitutional Court
might again do the same thing and order
the secret vote to be repeated, he said.
“It was a very scandalous ruling that
the Constitutional Court issued, but I
believe that they could do it again,” said
Mesežnikov. “So the coalition shouldn’t
waste time and should elect a general
prosecutor immediately after the new
voting rules become effective.”
 NEWS May 23 – 29, 2011 3

Germany and Austria Did US advise

open their doors – at last
BY MICHAELA
TERENZANI
Spectator staff
SLOVAK citizens are now able
to work in Austria and Ger-
many under the same condi-
tions as local workers after
the two countries opened
their labour markets on May 1
to citizens from eight mem-
ber states in central and east-
ern Europe, including Slov-
akia. Citizens can now apply
for a job in Austria and Ger-
many without requiring a
work permit. Reactions in
Austria and Germany to the
new freedoms have been
mixed: some worry that
workers from the east will
flood their labour markets;
while others rejoice, saying
that Austria and Germany are
in need of a fresh source of
highly qualified labour.
Austria and Germany
were the last two ‘old’ EU
countries to fully open their
labour markets to members
who joined the union in 2004.
They maintained labour mar-
ket restrictions for the max-
imum period of seven years
on eight of the 10 countries
including Slovakia that
entered the EU in its biggest
enlargement. The only two
2004 entrants that did not
face restrictions were Cyprus
and Malta.
The lifting of restrictions
finally establishes a single EU
labour market – except for
Qualified health-care professionals are wanted in Austria.
Romanian and Bulgarian cit-
izens, who will see restric-
tions lifted in 2014 – allowing
workers to move more easily
throughout member states.
The German and Austrian
media and observers did not
expect the end of the trans-
ition period to have a dramat-
ic impact on the situation in
the labour markets in their
two countries. The biggest
change will most likely be the
fact that tens of thousands of
citizens of the eight member
states affected – Slovakia, the
Photo: Sme
Czech Republic, Poland,
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania,
Estonia and Slovenia – who
already work in Austria and
Germany illegally will legal-
ise their status.
Observers have stated that
fears of a big influx of mi-
grants into the two countries
are unjustified and said that
Austria and Germany have in
fact lost out by keeping their
markets closed for the max-
imum possible transition
period. Indeed, as early as
2007 Austria allowed a partial
opening of its labour market
due to a lack of skilled labour
in some sectors and regions.
Austria and Germany
embrace immigrants
Austria is in need of
skilled workers, mainly due
to its aging population. The
opening of the labour market
will enhance the opportunit-
ies for Austrian companies to
recruit qualified workers. It
is estimated that around
20,000 to 25,000 people from
the eight member states will
seek employment after the
opening of the labour mar-
ket, according to Austrian
Ambassador to Slovakia
Markus Wuketich.
“Workers from new EU
countries and Slovakia in
particular are welcome to
Austrian companies, since
they are mostly very skilled
and have a good command
of German,” Ambassador
Wuketich said, adding that
Slovak employees can be
found mainly in the spheres
of tourism, industry, med-
ical care, agriculture and
construction.
He said that the general
response to the opening of
the labour market in Austria
is positive, with the excep-
tion of smaller companies in
the border regions who
seem to be concerned about
competitors from the ‘new’
EU countries.
See OPEN pg 9
over Transpetrol?
WikiLeaks
reports US aided
Slovakia in
buying shares
BY MICHAELA
TERENZANI
Spectator staff
AN OIL expert from Texas
reportedly gave advice to
the Slovak Economy Min-
istry and former minister
Ľubomír Jahnátek while the
country sought in 2006 to
repurchase 49 percent of the
shares of Transpetrol that
were owned by an arm of
the Yukos company, accord-
ing to diplomatic dispatches
published by Wikileaks.
“Advisor Steve Hellman
was present throughout the
negotiations and provided
critical technical and stra-
tegic information to the GOS
negotiating team,” wrote
the US Embassy in Bratis-
lava, in a dispatch that was
first published by McClatchy
Newspapers.
According to the cable,
Hellman estimated the
price of the shares at $120
million. The embassy noted
in the cable to the US State
Department that Jahnátek
was careful not to disclose
how high he could go with
Slovakia’s offer but that
sources at the Finance Min-
istry had revealed that
Jahnátek had authority to
spend up to $120 million.
In reaction to the pub-
lished cable, Jahnátek
denied any cooperation with
the US in buying the Trans-
but Jahnátek said he also re-
fused that offer, Sme wrote.
Jahnátek also told Sme that
he was monitored by US
secret agents to find out
whether he wanted Slovakia
to own the shares or wanted
to sell them to the Russians.
Jahnátek also told Sme
that pressure came from the
Russian side as well during
the negotiations to buy the
Transpetrol shares.
“Jahnátek is clearly ap-
preciative of the input
provided by Hellman and
will continue to look to him
and the US Embassy for in-
formation as he faces the
challenges to the deal in the
coming weeks,” the dis-
patch, as released by
WikiLeaks, states.
The US Embassy in Brat-
islava chose not to comment
on the dispatches published
by WikiLeaks. The
embassy’s press attaché,
Chase Beamer, told the
Pravda daily that it is no
secret that the US paid at-
tention to energy security
issues and also provided
consultancy to its allies, but
added that his response was
not directly linked with the
information released by
WikiLeaks.
The Russian government
charged Mikhail
Khodorkovsky, the principal
in Yukos Oil, with fraud in
2003 and began liquidating
the company, with the state-
owned Gazprom acquiring
many of Yukos’ assets, caus-
ing concern in the US that
Russia might have complete
control over all gas supplies
to Europe, SITA wrote,
adding that the United
States was interested in pre-

BODIES: PC data leads police to grave
Continued from pg 1
The injured policeman had recovered
sufficiently by May 17 to be removed
from an artificial ventilator and to start
communicating, the TASR newswire re-
ported. However, he remained in a seri-
ous condition.
Information from Čurko’s computer,
which was seized by police from his
house after he was apprehended, allowed
the police to locate an improvised altar
with a candle, plus various tools such as
clamps, ropes and a mattock, in wood-
land near Kysak. Nearby they discovered
a shallow grave containing two sets of
female human remains, the president of
the Police Corps, Jaroslav Spišiak, told a
press conference on May 17, as reported
by the TASR newswire.
“We have identified a grave in which
we have found the remains of two female
bodies, buried and covered with plastic
wrapping,” Spišiak said, adding that the
bodies were missing some parts that
match the body parts depicted in images
which Čurko had sent by e-mail to
Switzerland.
Girl from Snina might be among dead
One of the bodies was found naked
while the other was partly clothed. The
latter matched the description of a miss-
ing 20-year-old girl, Lucia Uchnárová,
from Snina. She had been missing since
September 2010 and the Slovak media
had previously reported a possible con-
nection between her and Čurko.
The Sme daily reported on May 13
that Uchnárová had psychological prob-
lems and had attempted suicide in 2008.
She apparently made a connection with
her murderer after she publicly an-
nounced on the internet that she wanted
to die, Sme wrote.
The identity of the bodies will be con-
firmed by DNA analysis.
Detained man died in hospital
Slovak police were notified about the
planned cannibalism by Interpol. The
Swiss man, who had expressed a desire to
be killed and subsequently eaten, found a
willing accomplice in Slovakia through
the internet and arranged a meeting to
carry out the plan, but lost his nerve
shortly before travelling and reported the
plan to Swiss police.
Police officers then tracked the e-
mail communication between the
would-be human flesh-eater and the
Swiss man. According to Spišiak, the
Swiss agreed to be killed in woodland.
The would-be cannibal was supposed to
drug him, stab him in the heart and then
quarter him. His remains were to be hid-
den – laced with pepper in order to mask
the scent and prevent animals from find-
ing the body – and subsequently eaten
over a period of time.
The intended victim was supposed to
arrive in Kysak by train, wearing clothes
previously agreed on with his would-be
killer. Slovak police swapped the Swiss
man for an agent, who then went to meet
the suspect near Kysak on May 10, as
agreed. The agent carried a transmitter to
allow other officers to track him.
The shoot-out occurred when a police
team attempted to arrest the suspect. The
man, who possessed four legally-held
firearms, pulled out a gun and threatened
to shoot the agent; in response, police
snipers opened fire, hitting him several
times. Despite his injuries, he returned
fire and managed to shoot one of the po-
lice team members before being subdued.
The injured 37-year-old officer’s condition
had stabilised by the evening of the shoot-
ing, although he was reported to be in a
critical condition. According to hospital
spokesperson Jaroslava Oravcová, his in-
juries required urgent surgery and he was
later placed in the department of anaes-
thesiology and intensive medicine.
Čurko was shot five times, suffering
wounds to several internal organs, as well
as to his arms and face. After being admit-
ted to hospital he underwent five hours of
surgery but died of his injuries on May 12.
By Michaela Terenzani
with press reports
petrol shares from Yukos and
described the dispatches as
“absolute nonsense”, the
Sme daily reported.
“It looks as if the US Am-
bassador was building a good
position at his own foreign
ministry,” Jahnátek said
about the cables, as quoted
by Sme.
He did state that during a
visit to the US he met an Un-
der Secretary of the State
Department who offered as-
sistance with the Yukos ne-
gotiations but insisted that
he had refused the help. He
also said that he knew Hell-
man because he had ar-
ranged a meeting several
times and wanted to be
present at the negotiations
Ľubomír Jahnátek
venting this.
The Sme daily explained
that if Russia acquired the
shares of Transpetrol it
could have stopped the
planned connection to
bring oil from the Caspian
area and that if Russia had
control over the pipeline in
Slovakia it would be very
unlikely to let competing
oil flow through it. Sme ad-
ded that the Slovak part of
the Druzhba pipeline has a
strategic significance for
the flow of oil from east to
west, whether it is Russian
oil or Caspian oil, as the
Slovak part of the pipeline
will be linked to a planned
pipeline running to
Schwechat in Austria.
Photo: Sme - Peter Žákovič
4 May 23 – 29, 2011 BUSINESS / NEWS

Business calls for more

Cabinet approves tax shake-up
THE MUCH-DEBATED
changes to Slovakia’s system
of taxes and mandatory
payroll levies were approved
by the coalition cabinet at its
session on May 18.
The measures include a
so-called super-gross salary
and reduction in payroll
levies for social insurance
and health insurance for
some employees. The tax-ex-
empt base is also proposed to
be reduced from 19.2 times
the minimum subsistence
level to 18 times. In monet-
ary terms, this means the
tax-free base would be €200
less in 2012.
The mandatory health-
care levy is proposed at 9 per-
cent, except for the disabled
who would pay half the rate.
The proposed social insur-
Malženice power plant fired up
REPRESENTATIVES of the
Slovak government, regional
and local political officials
and representatives of the
E.ON energy group officially
opened a new combined-cycle
power station in Malženice
near Trnava on May 16.
The power plant was
symbolically fired up by Eco-
nomy Minister Juraj Miškov,
Environment Minister József
Nagy, Jorgen Kildahl, a
member of the management
board of E.ON Energie AG,
and Konrad Kreuzer, the
chairman of the board of
E.ON Slovensko.
“The €400 million in-
vestment by E.ON represents
the largest energy invest-
ment in Slovakia realised by
the company in recent
years,” said Kildahl.
Minister Nagy noted in
his presentation that Slovakia
is too far from securing sus-
Moody’s confirms Slovakia's A1 rating
MOODY’S Investors Service
confirmed Slovakia’s rating
of A1 with regard to its for-
eign obligations and do-
mestic currency on May 17
and added that the outlook
is stable.
The SITA newswire re-
ported that Moody’s an-
nouncement came in reac-
tion to plans by the gov-
ernment of Iveta Radičová
hk}ly{pzltlu{
ance levy is 19 percent for
employees, 13 percent for
self-employed persons and 10
percent for people working
via work contracts, the TASR
newswire wrote.
A total of 99.5 percent of
employees are expected to be
better-off due to the changes.
However, the changes will
take more from self-em-
ployed people who earn more
than €4,823 per year; their
number is projected to be
180,400.
The Civic Conservative
Party (OKS), whose four MPs
sit in the parliamentary
caucus of Most-Híd, is not in
total agreement with some
provisions of the proposal
and. It says it is ready to
challenge the new rules in
parliament.
tainable electricity genera-
tion exclusively from renew-
able energy resources and
highlighted the importance of
efficient facilities like the
Malženice power plant that
generates power from a fossil
fuel with as low as possible
burden on the environment.
The Malženice power
plant is regarded as one of
the most advanced in Europe
from a technical point of
view in its category, boast-
ing an efficiency of more
than 59 percent. This high
figure is achieved by simul-
taneous use of gas and steam
turbines.
The power plant has an
installed capacity of 436 MW
and can generate up to 3 bil-
lion kWh of electricity per
year, sufficient to cover the
average annual consump-
tion of 600,000 to 900,000
households.
to take several measures
towards fiscal consolida-
tion, such as reducing pub-
lic sector wage costs by 10
percent in 2011, limiting
waste in public procure-
ment, freezing public in-
vestments and increasing
the overall effectiveness of
public sector expenditure.
Compiled by Spectator staff
Labour Code changes
ally terminate when an em-
ployee reaches retirement
BY BEATA BALOGOVÁ age, saying this would im-
Spectator staff prove the employment oppor-
tunities for young people. The
BUSINESSES do not hide their organisation is also suggest-
enthusiastic opinions about ing that there be a reduction
the Labour Code that was in in the time period for advance
place in Slovakia in 2007 before announcement of vacation
it underwent some significant shutdowns to three months
changes under the govern- so that companies can react
ment of Robert Fico. Although more flexibly to their current
the modifications proposed by business situation.
the government of Iveta PAS stated in its release
Radičová are moving the La- that even though the pro-
bour Code closer to what busi- posed changes in the layoff
nesses call a ‘flexible law’, the notice period will moder-
Business Alliance of Slovakia ately reduce the costs of lay-
(PAS) insists that the current offs of long-service employ-
draft, which was adopted by ees, employers will still be
the cabinet on April 28, does obliged to pay two-thirds
not go far enough. more than they did in 2007,
The German-Slovak when employees were lim-
Chamber of Commerce (DSI- ited to only three months’
HK) is also calling for addi- Labour Minister Jozef Mihál Photo: Sme salary when laid off.
tional changes to the Labour PAS wrote that the notice
Code even though the cham- lated to the layoff of employ- “Especially in smaller and period and the length of pay-
ber said the draft revisions in- ees; the amount of overtime medium-sized companies, the ing severance in most OECD
clude some modifications work permitted; and the au- interests of employees are of- countries is shorter than it is
that its members appreciate. thority of representatives of ten represented by a works in Slovakia, adding that the
Slovakia’s trade unions are employees in managerial de- council or other persons of changes in the revision
opposed to most of the pro- cision-making. trust,” Halt told The Slovak would move Slovakia towards
posed changes, arguing that Markus Halt, the spokes- Spectator. “The wording of the the level of protection in oth-
they will cause a decline in man for DSIHK, said that the law does not grant these insti- er OECD countries but it
the economic and social revision to the Labour Code will tutions the same authority would not match countries
status of employees. bring some improvement in when agreeing, for instance, such as the United States,
“Despite the fact that as the hiring and firing process as on flexible working time.” New Zealand, Great Britain
many as 140 provisions of this well as the introduction of flex- Halt also said his organ- and Australia, which are
law are changing, the revision ible working time accounts. isation would also like to see a characterised by low levels of
does not have the potential to He added, however, that cap of 12 monthly salaries on employee protection during
bring the level of flexibility to German investors still want wage compensation ordered layoffs but have lower levels
the labour law which was further changes, such as by courts. of unemployment.
there before 2007,” PAS said in more equal treatment of trade “The long proceedings at “Slovakia has its own pos-
a news release. unions and other employee courts often result in unjusti- itive experience with how a
The alliance called on representation institutions, fiably large severance pay,” flexible labour code inspires
members of parliament to as his organisation believes Halt said. growth in employment and
focus on three key areas dur- the current text in the The chamber also pro- the economy,” PAS wrote.
ing the forthcoming parlia- amendment gives trade uni- poses that an employment
mentary debate: costs re- ons more privileges. contract should automatic- See CODE p g 9
GDP: IMF predicts strong growth
Continued from pg 1 turn to pre-crisis levels thanks to strong data from district labour offices, on the
foreign demand. contrary, indicated more layoffs in com-
Mária Valachyová of Slovenská “Nevertheless, we do not have any parison to the previous quarter.
Sporiteľňa bank added that the strong great illusions about domestic Fojtík expects that quarter-on-
German growth was to a certain degree consumption,” Sadovská added. “Unem- quarter GDP growth for the rest of the
associated with a revival in the construc- ployment in the first quarter remained year could be even stronger than in the
tion sector which “at the end of the year high and thus it did not allow Slovaks to first quarter, and that it could even be
had been stalled by unfavourable become spendthrift.” supported by higher consumption by
weather” and for that reason growth in Koršňák commented that the households, which should be less con-
that sector was even faster at the begin- government’s austerity programme has cerned about unemployment.
ning of this year. contributed to a reduction in consumer The IMF predicted that Slovakia’s
“Partly it is a one-time impulse,” confidence and has delayed a recovery in economy will grow by 3.8 percent over
Valachyová said, while adding that other domestic consumption. the full year and by 4.2 percent in 2012,
aspects of German growth remain very “We expect that government spend- while predicting average economic
strong and that this is good news for ing has also recorded a drop and that the growth in the eurozone at 1.6 percent in
Slovakia since Germany takes 20 percent savings measures within public admin- 2011 and 1.8 percent in 2012.
of Slovakia’s exports. istration have an anti-growth effect on Koršňák’s bank has not modified its

FOR RENT
Koršňák commented that reviving
investment by domestic companies has
also probably made a contribution to GDP
New (16.000 m²) growth.
in sections
“This [development] is suggested by
loans that the banking sector provided to
non-financial companies, which at the
beginning of the year showed increasing
tendencies; the year-on-year growth ac-
Existing (6.000 m²) celerated to almost 4.0 percent,” Koršňák
rented wrote in a UniCredit release.
NEW INDUSTRIAL HALLS IN VRÁBLE Eva Sadovská, an analyst with
Poštová Banka, said that industrial pro-
www.cehip.eu duction in Slovakia has managed to re-
SP90570/1
GDP,” Koršňák wrote.
According to Koršňák, GDP growth
has been accompanied by some growth
in domestic employment, which re-
gistered 1.6-percent year-on-year
growth in the first quarter and a 0.6-per-
cent improvement from the last quarter
of 2010.
Valachyová said that the preliminary
labour market numbers were surpris-
ingly favourable, noting that the 0.6-per-
cent quarterly growth was registered
despite layoffs in the public sector and
fewer seasonal jobs. But she added that
earlier prediction of 3.1 percent GDP
growth in 2011.
Valachyová’s bank is projecting GDP
growth of 4 percent for 2011, driven by
strong foreign demand and further in-
vestments in Slovakia.
Sadovská at Poštová Banka is predict-
ing that GDP growth for the whole year
will hit 3.7 percent.
“Overall it will be slower growth than
last year when the economy grew by 4
percent,” Sadovská said. “The reason be-
hind this year’s growth will be continu-
ing foreign demand.”

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
The KDH’s Pavol Hrušovský reacts to allegations by Smer leader Robert Fico that
the coalition had used a code to monitor the secret vote on the general prosecutor.
Radičovej kód
BY LUKÁŠ FILA
Special to the Spectator
IT’S BEEN another great week
for conspiracy fans. The police
claim to have discovered ac-
tual victims of the alleged
cannibal, while some ques-
tion not only his guilt but also
the actions of the police who
failed to catch him alive. The
census is getting under way,
propelling a wave of e-mails
likening the project to the
activities of the communist-
era secret police and warning
of possible abuses of personal
data. National hockey team
coach Glen Hanlon was
sacked, leading to a national
hunt for his successor. Ac-
cording to information from
WikiLeaks, the US secretly
advised Robert Fico’s govern-
ment on how to buy back
shares in Transpetrol, and
thus prevent deeper Russian
involvement in the country.
Then add the main foreign
news – the amorous adven-
tures of IMF boss Dominique
Strauss-Kahn.
In this atmosphere it
seems almost inevitable that
the main event on the do-
mestic political scene would
be shrouded in secrecy. The
selection of the general pro-
secutor had the potential to
bring down Iveta Radičová’s
government. In the end, it
survived – but only, says Fico,
thanks to the Radičová code.
Fico’s theory is that coalition
MPs marked their ballots to
enable mutual control of who
voted how. Now, in the past
the Smer leader has come up
with his fair share of conspir-
acy theories – the swine flu
was a product of pharmaceut-
icals companies, the beating
of Hedviga Malinová was an
attempt by Hungarians to
bring down his government,
NDS: Official defends training firm
Continued from pg 2
Sitár specified that the
cancelled orders related to
coaching and education of
employees of the NDS, media
consultancy, as well as con-
sultancy for the forthcoming
merger of the NDS and the
Slovak Road Administration.
Nevertheless, Sitár de-
fended the procurement of
training and coaching ser-
vices from training firm
FranklinCovey, arguing that
it had garnered positive ref-
erences within the private
sector, the Sme daily repor-
ted.
One of the tutors en-
gaged to provide the coach-
ing was Minister Figeľ’s
main adviser, Marián
Kolník.
“Only extraterrestrial creatures could make this up.”
SLOVAK WORD
OF THE WEEK
Americans went to Iraq be-
cause of oil. In fact, leaving
aside Hitler and Elvis living
on a common island, extrater-
restrials wandering the globe,
and freemasons running the
world economy, Fico has
probably at some point
presented as plausible every
imaginable conspiracy.
But this time is special.
For once, Fico is almost cer-
tainly right. Going into a
secret vote without some sort
of checks would have been in-
sane. Unfortunately for him,
he will never be able to prove
MPs voting on the general prosecutor.
The questioned
training
On May 10, Figeľ con-
firmed that he had received
an anonymous letter in
which disaffected NDS staff
pointed to what they
claimed were overpriced
purchases of training and
consulting services for the
state-run firm, the TASR
newswire reported. Figeľ
said he would seek an ex-
planation from Sitár.
“Please find enclosed
copies of 17 orders from the
[NDS] general director and
his colleagues. They repres-
ent would-be work worth
€309,203, which is an in-
credible Sk9.315 million,”
read the anonymous
whistle-blowing letters.
OPINION / NEWS
it. The ballots have been des-
troyed. And coalition MPs
seem determined not to dis-
cuss their methods of voting
in public. The prime minister
was probably not involved in
devising the mechanism, and
maybe truly rejected any rig-
ging, as she has asserted in
her public appearances.
But when dealing with the
dark world of conspiracies,
one can never forget the truth
expressed by former US sec-
retary of defense Donald
Rumsfeld: “We know there
are known knowns; there are
things we know we know. We
also know there are known
unknowns; that is to say we
know there are some things
we do not know. But there are
also unknown unknowns –
the ones we don’t know we
don’t know.” And for
Radičová, the secret voting
mechanism is either a known
known, or a known unknown.
There is little chance of it be-
ing an unknown unknown. To
put it simply – she most likely
knows the voting was not
fully secret. One has to won-
der how all this complies with
the code Radičová values the
most. The code of ethics.
Photo: SITA
“You can peruse these orders
on the NDS website. We’re
highly disillusioned about
this.”
The training sessions
were to have taken place at a
five-star hotel in Dunajská
Streda located in a historical
building, which according to
Sme, belongs to backers of
another ruling coalition
party, Most-Híd.
Ján Kotula, a KDH nom-
inee, has been named the in-
terim head of the NDS. He
also serves as deputy chair-
man of the board of directors
of the highway company.
Kotula said that he was dis-
satisfied with the operation
of his predecessor.
“He had installed new
methods, which are unsuit-
able for such a company,”
The Radičová Code
POLITICAL conspiracy theor-
ies do have a certain irresist-
ible charm and Smer boss
Robert Fico is not the kind of
politician who can resist
them, especially when an
elaborate plot can secure what
he desires as much as power:
widespread publicity.
The ‘Radičová Code’ is not
a cryptic message from a
secret society revealing the
genesis of political power in
Slovakia but rather Fico’s
theory on how the ruling co-
alition managed to keep four
or so members of parliament
from casting their ballots for
the re-selection of Dobroslav
Trnka as general prosecutor,
as some had done in Decem-
ber 2010. Prime Minister Iv-
eta Radičová threatened to
resign if Trnka were to win a
subsequent vote, offering
many reasons why he was no
longer suitable for that im-
portant post.
So what is the Radičová
Code? According to Fico, it is
eighteen ballots marked
through diagonally, re-
portedly by MPs from the
Freedom and Solidarity party
while the MPs from Most-Híd
invalidated theirs with hori-
zontal marks. The Ordinary
People MPs ticked both the
‘abstain’ and ‘against’ boxes
on the ballot while MPs from
the Christian Democratic
Movement (KDH) actually
voted against Trnka and MPs
from the Slovak Democratic
and Christian Union (SDKÚ)
abstained. Since Speaker of
Parliament Richard Sulík
made sure that all the ballots
were shredded, we cannot
expect a symbologist from
Harvard, or even the Slovak
Academy of Sciences, to fur-
ther unravel the mysteries of
the Radičová Code.
Though Pavol Hrušovský,
the caucus chair of the Chris-
tian Democratic Movement,
responded that Fico’s theory
could “be made up only by ex-
traterrestrial creatures,” Fico
remained confident that the
mathematical calculations
underpinning his theory
were irrefutable.
Kotula said, as quoted by
Sme.
Vážny, the previous min-
ister, said the recall of Sitár
did not solve anything since,
he claimed, it is Kolník,
Figeľ’s adviser, who in real-
ity manages the ministry.
Vážny said Figeľ would
install a more obedient per-
son in the post, SITA repor-
ted. Vážny also refused to
describe the recall as a radic-
al step, suggesting that Sitár
had planned to quit the NDS
anyway.
The Transport Ministry
rejected Vážny’s claims,
stating that Figeľ acted in
line with ethical standards
and commenting that the
approach of the previous
management, i.e. under
Vážny, was not comparable.
May 23 – 29, 2011 5
This theatre of the absurd only lose its sharpness but
shows perfectly why an open, also implant a feeling of in-
recorded vote is a much bet- stability even in people who
ter method in Slovakia’s cur- consider the prime minister
rent political atmosphere,
when MPs try to turn it into a
virtue when they say they
the main reason why they
would, for example, support
the SDKÚ, the party that in
voted in a secret ballot in the many ways still treats her as
something of an outsider,
who just by some strange co-
EDITORIAL
incidence happened to be-
come the party’s most popu-
lar (and trusted) face in the
eyes of the Slovak public.
Nevertheless, this saga of
choosing the country’s next
prosecutor is not yet any-
where close to its end. The
next chapter, which has just
started, might bring some
further surprises: the ruling
coalition might for some
reason again fail to give un-
animous support to their an-
nounced, joint candidate –
that is, of course, if the four
BY BEATA BALOGOVÁ parties can still agree that
Spectator staff they will have a joint candid-
ate. Some coalition voices are
already questioning whether
way they had previously it should continue to be Jozef
agreed or that they had not Čentéš, who in a last-minute
broken their solemn agree- move withdrew his candid-
ment while voting under the acy. The parties are now
cloak of anonymity. faced with the knotty ques-
What has changed since tion of what to do next.
the December vote when at It is also highly unlikely
least four ruling coalition that this was the last appear-
MPs must have voted along ance by Dobroslav Trnka on
with Fico’s Smer to return the political stage. If he fol-
Trnka to the prosecutor’s of- lows Fico’s advice he might
fice for another seven years? again challenge the May 17
Perhaps those MPs who vote in the Constitutional
thought at that time that Court, which might then
they could make some polit- once again order another
ical bargain if Radičová curtain call in the secret-bal-
resigned have now realised lot melodrama.
that they would have lost How much easier
even more than Slovakia’s everything would be if the
first woman prime minister. Slovak political elite were to
The result of the May 17 follow just a few simple rules:
vote, however, has not given first, those who enter power-
the members of parliament ful public positions should re-
more integrity or turned cognise that a point can come
them into better public ser- when it is one’s time to leave
vants. What might change in the political stage; and
the future though is that second, the acts of MPs
Radičová might become should match their words,
much more careful about us- negating the need for a veil of
ing the threat of resignation anonymity when making a
as a tool to push through decision in parliament that
what she thinks is right for will fundamentally affect the
her government. If used too country’s ethical standards
frequently this tool will not for the next seven years.
J ÁN PAL LO - Publisher
EDITORIAL
B E ATA B AL O G OVÁ - Editor - In - Chief
J AM E S THO M S O N - Assistant Editor
D O NAL D S PATZ - Assistant Editor
J ANA L IP TÁKOVÁ - Staff Writer
M IC H AE LA TER ENZANI - Staff Writer
ZUZANA V IL IKOVS K Á - Staff Writer
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LAYOUT, WEB & IT
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6 May 23 – 29, 2011

HUMAN RESOURCES
HR experts see promising BUSINESS FOCUS Next issue:
developments in 2011

Slovak labour market may face PRIVATE

a lack of qualified employees & CORPORATE FINANCE

hk}ly{pzltlu{

Slovaks eye work in w•’‰ˆ––Œ’‘„–

Œ‘ꋘ„‘ꕈ–’˜•†ˆ–
Austria and Germany hnvêl˜•’“ˆê–­•­’­
hnvên•’˜“ê¾êi•„—Œ–„™„
According to Sirota, the
Poor knowledge presence of Austrian and {’–—>‹’ê©
¨¡¡êª¦êi•„—Œ–„™„
of German German companies operating
z’™„Žêyˆ“˜…Œ†
in Slovakia has significantly
could hinder contributed to building {ˆ®êФ¢¡ÂªÃê¢ê¥¤¤¡ê¨ª¨¢±ê¨£
êm„›®êФ¢¡ÂªÃê¢ê¥¤¤£ê¥¤§¡
their success awareness and knowledge
l¾„Œ®ê„Š’Í„Š’­–Ž
about the qualities of the Slov-
ššš­„Š’­–Ž
ak labour force, which is no
longer viewed as something
BY JANA LIPTÁKOVÁ hnv¾iyh{pzsh}hê hnv¾iyuvê hnv¾|ryhpulê hnv¾}pluuh
unknown or unclear.
Spectator staff “And the fact that tens of SP90478/4

thousands of Slovaks have

THE OPENING of the Austri-
an and German labour mar-
kets on May 1 was long anti-
cipated but it appears that
lifting this last barrier to (al-
most) fully free movement of
labour within the European
Union will not have any sig-
nificant impact on the Slovak
labour market. Those Slovaks
who wanted to work in either
of these two countries had
probably already found a
Companies want workers with expert skills.
“Austria and Germany
[already] had their labour
markets open for all wanted
professions,” Michal Páleník
of the Employment Institute,
an employment think tank,
told The Slovak Spectator.
Photo: ČTK
man companies in finding
qualified labour in Slovakia as
well as the interest of Slovaks
in finding jobs in these two
countries. The Slovak arm of
Manpower said the interest of
German and Austrian com-
already been working in Aus-
tria and Germany has also
built awareness about the
Slovak labour force,” said
Sirota. “For example, the res-
ults of a survey conducted by
Trenkwalder Personaldienste
of Austria among 395 Austrian
companies in February 2011
indicated that over 40 percent
of the surveyed companies
already employ workers from
eastern EU member countries.
Almost one half of the re- SP90558/1

path to do so, while insuffi-
cient language skills are
likely to continue to act as a
barrier to mass migration by
Slovak workers.
“So, all of those for whom
there was demand are
already working there. Sim-
plification of administrative
procedures and the opening
panies in Slovak workers has
an upward trajectory.
The Slovak arm of Trenk-
walder currently has about
450 job offers from companies
spondents did not rule out
admitting workers from these
Recruiting
countries in 2011 and of these, personnel solutions
Headhunting
almost 50 percent were inter-
ested specifically in Slovaks.” ctive IT Professionals
Assessment systems

Some Austrian and Ger-
man employers have said they
would like to fill their vacan-
cies by hiring qualified Slovak
workers and some Slovaks
have also been eyeing this op-
portunity with high expecta-
tions but it seems that differ-
of other positions will cer-
tainly help others to get em-
ployed in Germany or Aus-
tria, but I do not expect that
there will be a lot of those
employees. I estimate them
at some thousands.”
Personnel and recruit-
in Austria and Germany and
about 500 Slovaks seeking
jobs in those countries.
“We expect that we will be
able to place, via our sister
companies, about 1,000 Slovak
workers annually in these
markets,” Luboš Sirota, the
According to the experi-
ence of Trenkwalder, Austrian
and German companies are
especially interested in quali-
fied workers with a technical
focus: IT experts, certain
kinds of industrial workers
and also health-care staff.
Mgr. Rastislav Klempa
Executive Director & Senior Personnel Consultant
Mobile: +421 911 766033
Email: klempa@activeps.sk
ACTIVE Personnel Solutions, s.r.o. SKYPE: activeps_klempa
Kutlíkova 17 (budova Technopolu) Tel: +421 2 6828 6709
852 50 Bratislava Web: www.activeps.sk

ences in supply and demand ment agencies confirmed the head of Trenkwalder in Slov-
SP90557/1
may limit both expectations. interest of Austrian and Ger- akia told The Slovak Spectator. See JOBS pg 8

Slovakia to issue EU Blue Cards

Migration of skilled
workers seen as a cure
for an aging population
BY JANA LIPTÁKOVÁ
Spectator staff
SLOVAKIA, like other European coun-
tries, faces an aging society and is start-
ing to look beyond its borders to fill in
gaps in its labour force. To create a more
unified structure for work migration the
European Union has developed a system
of Blue Cards to allow skilled workers to
more easily obtain entry to EU countries.
Slovakia is now taking action to transpose
the EU’s legislation into its national laws.
The Slovak parliament will discuss a draft
revision to the country’s law on illegal
work as well as an amendment to the law
on foreigners staying in Slovakia at its
current session that opened on May 17.
“The Blue Card will enable foreigners
from third countries [those outside the
EU] to live and work in Slovakia,” Natália
Hattalová from the press department of
the Interior Ministry wrote in a news re-
lease. The card will be valid for three
years and can be renewed for another
three years. An applicant for a Blue Card
must have already been offered a so-
called highly-qualified job, must possess
the required qualifications, and must
have a work contract or a written coven-
ant from a specific employer.
If adopted by parliament, Slovakia
will start issuing the Blue Card as of July
1, 2011. The administrative fee for a Blue
Card is slated to be €165.50, with a renew-
al fee of €99.50. To be eligible for a Blue
Card a migrant’s agreed upon salary must
be at least 1.5 times the average salary in
Slovakia. The national average monthly
salary last year was €769 so the monthly
salary for a Blue Card migrant should be
about €1,150 or higher.
Slovakia’s aging population
“With an aging population and a very
low fertility rate, Slovakia has a serious
demographic problem,” Martin Kahanec,
scientific director of the Central
European Labour Studies Institute
(CELSI) in Bratislava, told The Slovak
Spectator. “The significant shrinkage of
its working-age population projected by IVENTA Slovakia
demographers for the coming decades
● Executive Search Management Consulting s. r. o.
● Search & Selection 811 09 Bratislava, Jakubovo nám. 13
poses severe risks for its economy, labour ● Assessment & Development tel.: +421/2/57 37 37 11
market and public finances.”
Kahanec believes that immigration
● Media Services iventa@iventa.sk
●
Employer Branding www.iventa.sk
can significantly alleviate these prob-
lems, not only directly through the in-
flow of young and highly-motivated eco- Wien – Linz – Salzburg – Graz – Praha – Bratislava – Budapest – Bucuresti – Zagreb
nomic migrants but also by creation of SP90576
new jobs for Slovak citizens.
“In particular, high-skilled immig-
rants can fill in bottlenecks in the labour
market and thereby buttress the eco-
nomy and increase demand for the do-
Amrop Slovakia, Jenewein Slovakia, FIPRA Slovakia & EPPP ink Tank
mestic labour force,” said Kahanec. Štefanovičova 12, 811 04 Bratislava, Slovak Republic
Kahanec added that from the labour tel./fax: (+421-2) 5443 6001-4
market perspective the primary objective slovakia@jeneweingroup.com
of Slovakia’s migration policy should be
to facilitate immigration, integration,
and naturalisation of skilled migrants,
noting that this could include immigra-
tion of well-educated workers but also Human Capital – Management Consulting – Government Relations
students who come first to study but who www.jeneweingroup.com
could then stay to work. SP90574
Some labour market experts believe
that issuing the EU Blue Card will help to t’•ˆê†’‘—„†—–ꉒ•êoyꆒ“„‘Œˆ–ꆄ‘ꅈꉒ˜‘‡ê
draw more experts to Slovakia – but oth-
ers are not so sanguine. Œ‘ê—‹ˆê’‘Œ‘ˆê…˜–Œ‘ˆ––ꇌ•ˆ†—’•œ
See CARD pg 8
 BUSINESS FOCUS May 23 – 29, 2011 7

HR experts see promise FOCUS short

BY JANA LIPTÁKOVÁ
Spectator staff
THE SLOVAK economy is
showing clear signals of recov-
ery and this has been reflected
in the labour market and in
more business for companies
that are active in executive
search, personnel audits, con-
sultancy, temporary employ-
ment and other fields of hu-
man resources. But represent-
atives of firms in this business
say the nature of their work
has changed from before or
during the economic crisis.
The Slovak Spectator
spoke with seven executives
of HR firms: Igor Šulík, man-
aging partner of Amrop Slov-
akia consultancy company;
Ján Menkyna, founding part-
ner of Menkyna & Partners
Management Consulting;
Mariana Turanová, managing
partner of Target Executive
Search in Slovakia; Dana
Blechová, country manager of
Iventa Slovakia Management
Consulting; Ľuboš Sirota,
chairman of the board of dir-
ectors and CEO of Trenk-
walder in Slovakia; Erik
Hudák, sales manager of the
Slovak arm of Manpower; and
Peter Paška from Proact
People Slovensko.
The Slovak Spectator (TSS):
How do you perceive devel-
opments in the current la-
bour market and particu-
larly in the executive
search segment? How has
the situation changed in
comparison with the period
before the economic crisis?
What do you expect next in
the recovery of Slovakia’s
economy?
Igor Šulík: Consultancy
companies are reporting a
more significant demand for
their services now than during
the crisis. Companies have
gradually restarted their in-
vestments while simultan-
eously beginning to look for
enhancement of their teams,
even though it is still not pos-
sible to talk about the dynamic
movements in the labour
market that we witnessed be-
fore mid 2009.
Simultaneously, it is ne-
cessary to point out that what
is expected from job applic-
ants has changed. The ability
Firms are beginning to hire again, say experts.
rect and ethical way as well as
the ability to find also those
people who protect their pri-
vacy and avoid such media
will be of key importance in
the success of consultancy
companies in finding leaders.
The second trend, which I be-
lieve will determine the near-
term development of person-
nel consultancy, will be the
increasing interest [of clients]
in services with a higher ad-
ded value.
Ján Menkyna: The situ-
ation in executive search is dif-
ferent from business sector to
business sector. For example,
the manufacturing sector was
hit hardest by the crisis but
here we have registered a
spontaneous restart. On the
other hand, there are sectors
which were less affected by the
crisis and changes are happen-
ing only now. Here I would
put, for example, the pharma-
ceutical industry, which was
actually not hit by the crisis in
any significant way but is now
reflecting some systemic
changes which the health-
care sector is facing, as well as
development and research.
Consequently, we perceive a
bigger crisis in the pharma-
ceutical industry now than
during the global crisis.
Mariana Turanová: De-
velopments are favourable for
firms active in executive
search. Companies are again
searching for managers and
experts. They are creating new
positions which they need to
fill with people with specific
experience and managerial
potential. They are unable to
find such people via classical,
passive recruitment, such as
ads and database search and
that is why they need our ser-
vices. Reports about the
planned economic growth as
Photo: TASR
Executive search is now
used especially when chan-
ging top managers but also for
managers in various divisions.
Thus far, companies had been
filling managerial positions
internally but this was not al-
ways the best solution. Com-
panies are gradually ending
policies of saving and optim-
ising. They really need the ap-
propriate people and must find
replacements at certain posi-
tions, something they did not
do even before the crisis. They
have all learned that econom-
ic growth is not a permanent
phenomenon and that man-
agers who have occupied
their posts for many years
without any tangible results
must be evaluated more real-
istically and in some cases
must even be replaced. After
the crisis companies are look-
ing for optimal solutions.
This is why companies are
strengthening their local
management and replacing
expats. We expect that a lot of
companies will be looking for
the most appropriate people
and that will increase de-
mand for the services of exec-
utive search companies.
TSS: How would you assess
the current interest of com-
panies in Slovakia in person-
nel leasing? How has the
situation changed in com-
parison with the crisis peri-
od?
Ľuboš Sirota: The situ-
ation has radically changed
when compared with the crisis
period. This is because em-
ployers in Slovakia, contrary to
western EU countries, were
quickly getting rid of agency
workers, because cutting la-
bour in this way was cheapest
for them. The low flexibility in
labour legislation in Slovakia
ing an increased interest in
new workers on the part of our
partner companies. Compared
with the same period of 2010
our performance has in-
creased by 38 percent. The in-
crease oscillates from some
tens up to some hundreds of
newly-filled positions, de-
pending on the individual
companies. But this reflects
especially the current start-up
of manufacturing companies,
which are returning to full
production after a period of re-
duced orders.
With regards to anticip-
ated developments, we see an
increasing interest in quali-
fied workers and experts. This
means that companies are
welcoming the possibility to
get workers who are ‘ready’; on
the other hand, that does not
play in favour of recent gradu-
ates who have not yet had the
chance to obtain the necessary
practical experience.
Erik Hudák: The interest
of companies is growing.
Moreover, prior to the summer
holidays companies are also
interested in finding short-
term replacements. Compared
with the crisis period, the
number of leased people is in-
creasing.
To read all the comments made
by these and other HR experts,
please go to www.spectator.sk.
hk}ly{pzltlu{
SAVE THE DATE
11. september 2011
Lack of qualified people predicted
IN SPITE of the still-high
unemployment rate, the
Slovak labour market may
face a lack of qualified la-
bour within a short time,
the Trenkwalder personnel
agency warned in late April.
It based its concerns on the
long average period – cur-
rently exceeding one year –
which job seekers spend re-
gistered with job offices,
the SITA newswire wrote.
Based on data from the
Labour, Social Affairs and
Family Office (ÚPSVAR), the
average period of registra-
tion was 13.81 months in
March. Compared with the
same period of 2010 this
represents an increase of
almost one month.
The group of people
who are gradually losing
working habits is expand-
ing, according to Trenk-
walder. There is therefore a
danger that when
Slovakia’s economy starts
growing in earnest firms
will have problems finding
suitable employees in spite
of the high number of job-
less people.
“The bad structure of
unemployment in Slovakia
will gradually increase the
price of those who already
have a job,” said Luboš
Sirota, from the Slovak arm
of Trenkwalder.
ÚPSVAR data confirm
the structure of people who
are currently without a job.
“The growing economy,
after taking up current re-
serves, will encounter the
same problems it faced in
the recent past – a lack of
appropriate labour,”
warned Trenkwalder.
Moreover, the local educa-
tion system is unable to sat-
isfy increased demand for
qualified workers by sup-
plying enough quality
graduates.
Simultaneously, it is
unrealistic to expect the
situation to change in the
coming months.
“The inflow of new
graduates will worsen the
situation of those who
graduated from schools last
year and have not yet found
a job,” Sirota said, adding
that companies will prefer
fresh graduates to those
who have failed to succeed
in the labour market so far.
Compiled by Spectator staff
from press reports

to act in a changing environ-
ment, to face unexpected
events, to anticipate and elim-
inate potential risks – these
are some of the evaluation cri-
teria which employers are us-
ing to analyse potential can-
didates for managerial and
leadership positions.
In my opinion the human
resources and recruiting in-
dustry faces two fundamental
challenges. The first is the
swift arrival of social media
and social networks, where in-
formation about job applic-
ants is relatively easily avail-
able. Thus, the ability to work
with these networks in a cor-
well as concrete investments,
for example those announced
by Volkswagen and Honey-
well, are creating a positive
atmosphere.
Dana Blechová: Move-
ment is already visible in the
labour market, with previ-
ously vacant positions now be-
ing filled and some companies
taking on new staff. The latter
trend we see especially in
manufacturing companies as
well as in so-called shared ser-
vice centres. Firms that have
orders and sound results are
more courageous when mak-
ing decisions, as well as in
making changes.
Join us!
was also responsible for this.
However, since mid 2009 this
trend has turned around and
Slovak companies have begun
to take back terminated agency
workers. The reason is that
during the crisis they realised
Under the slogan HR for Children. THANK YOU! we will
that this form of employment run to help children in Slovakia.
enabled then to react flexibly Each of our steps will give a feeling of security to a child in need.
to their production situation
and the development of orders. Each euro we receive we will be donated to the Children‘s Safety
As a consequence, the number Line, which has been helping children for 15 years.
of agency workers has more
than tripled. Currently, within hrdetom@amrop.sk www.21kmpredeti.ldi.sk www.amrop.sk
Trenkwalder, the number of
leased people working full-
time exceeds 3,000. Media partners:
Peter Paška: During the
current time we are register- SP90566/1
8 May 23 – 29, 2011 BUSINESS FOCUS

JOBS: Mismatch in skills is a problem

Continued from pg 6
Sirota believes that Slovaks
can find jobs in those countries
also in the administration, con-
struction or trade sectors.
Erik Hudák, sales manager
of the Slovak arm of Manpower,
confirmed a growing interest
by companies in Germany and
Austria of employing Slovak
workers, noting that the
biggest interest is in qualified
workers, IT specialists, welders
and skilled craftsmen as well as
auxiliary workers in the con-
struction industry and employ-
ees in the tourism sector.
When comparing the re-
quirements that German and
Austrian companies expect
from Slovak workers against
potential employees from other
countries, both Sirota and
Hudák emphasised that know-
ing German well is generally a
necessity but that the IT sector,
dominated by English, might
be an exception.
“In general, foreign com-
panies are, contrary to Slovak
companies, less willing to lower
their requirements on employ-
ees and Austrian and German
companies are not an
exception,” said Sirota.
“Equally, foreign companies lay
more stress on the psychologic-
al profile of an employee, espe-
cially in the service sector.”
Interest and demand
are not aligned
The experiences of these
personnel companies thus far
show a mismatch between
demand in the German and
Austrian labour markets and
the supply available from
other countries.
“Applicants who declare an
interest in a job abroad have
mostly completed their second-
ary education with the school-
leaving exam,”
Burianová, spokesperson for
Lucia
Profesia, told The Slovak Spec-
tator. “The second most numer-
ous group of applicants looking
for a job abroad are those with
completed secondary education
but without the school-leaving
exam. On the other hand, the
most desired group of workers
are those with completed uni-
versity education, and they
make up less than one tenth of
the job applicants.”
Trenkwalder currently re-
gisters about 500 job applicants
for positions in Germany and
Austria and a survey it conduc-
ted among job applicants con-
firmed a general interest in
finding a job abroad.
“As many as 50 percent of
the respondents would like to
apply for a job in Germany,
Austria or Switzerland,” said
Sirota, adding that the highest
interest is in Austria. “With re-
gards to Austria and Germany,
we register the highest interest
in unqualified work positions
in the sectors of manufactur-
ing and service, in which
100-percent knowledge of the
language is not required.”
Poor knowledge of the
German language is a sore
spot. A survey conducted by
Trenkwalder among 1,504 re-
spondents in Slovakia showed
that of 625 respondents who
answered the question about
their language level for the
country in which they want to
work, just over half said that
they were only able to make
themselves understood and
only 19 percent said they had
mastered the language.
“This clearly indicates that
the language barrier is slowing
down Slovaks in searching for
jobs abroad,” Sirota stated.
Trenkwalder in Slovakia
registered the highest interest
in jobs in Germany and Aus-
tria from Slovak applicants for
the positions of bricklayer and
bricklayer helper, waiter,
shop assistant, painter-decor-
ator, assistant cook as well as
in services in hotels. But
Trenkwalder reported that the
demand for labour from these
countries focuses more on
specific qualified positions in
manufacturing and service
sectors which require fluent
language skills.
Sirota stated that there
are some huge qualitative dif-
ferences between demand
and supply.
“The problem is that even
though we have enough can-
didates for a given position,
the applicants do not speak
the language at the required
level,” Sirota said, adding that
employers are interested in
highly-qualified manufactur-
ing positions using CNC
[computer numerical control]
machines, welders, electri-
cians and other skilled jobs.
“These positions are, in terms
of suitable candidates, quite
difficult to fill. On the other
hand, if candidates spoke the
language, certainly German or
Austrian firms could motivate
them better financially [than
Slovak employers].”
Sirota said he expects that
in the future employers from
these countries will ‘overpay’
for suitable, experienced em-
ployees and that will push
employers in Slovakia to in-
crease wages for these posi-
tions here and that some do-
mestic employers might have
to look for certain kinds of la-
bour from abroad.
Low qualifications
not needed
Slovakia suffers from high-
er levels of unemployment
among people with lower qual-
ifications and it does not ap-
pear that the opening of the
Austrian and German labour
markets will be a miraculous
cure for this problem.
“People with higher as
well as lower qualifications
have a chance [to get a job],
but it is unrealistic to expect
that too many Slovaks will be
hired in those countries,”
said Páleník of the Employ-
ment Institute.
Hudák of Manpower agreed
that the inability of many
Slovaks with low qualifications
to speak German decreases the
likelihood that they can get a
job in Germany or Austria.
“Unless they speak the
language at a level adequate for
a given work position, they
must reckon that an Austrian
or German employer would
only be satisfied with leading
such people via team leaders
who are Slovaks who speak
German; for example, one
team leader leading 10 workers
who do not speak German,”
Hudák said.
Sirota thinks that a
person’s chance of landing a job
in Germany or Austria depends
on the exact position that a
worker seeks but that language
skills and good qualifications
are almost always necessary.
“Most employers from
these countries primarily need
qualified labour with sufficient
language skills,” Sirota said. “A
survey by Trenkwalder among
395 Austrian companies
showed that 42.9 percent of
those interested in labour from
newer EU member countries
had a need for experts and 31.1
percent for language skills.
Only 14.3 percent of these
companies put savings on
costs as the reason for employ-
ing labour from abroad. Thus,
lower qualifications are a
strong constraint.”
FOCUS shorts
45 applicants for every job
JOB offices offered fewer than
9,000 vacancies in March,
while the number of job
seekers marked a record level
of over 390,000. There were
therefore around 45 unem-
ployed people for each avail-
able job in Slovakia, the TASR
newswire reported.
At the end of March va-
cancies numbered 8,760, ac-
cording to the Labour, Social
Affairs and Family Office
Slovakia’s youth facing joblessness
THE NUMBER of young people
without jobs in Slovakia re-
mains high. At the end of
March, people aged between
20 and 29 made up the biggest
group of jobseekers – 111,100,
i.e. almost 30 percent of all
jobseekers, who numbered
more than 390,000 people, the
SITA newswire reported, cit-
ing data from the Labour, So-
cial Affairs and Family Office
(ÚPSVAR). The second most
numerous group of jobseekers
were people aged 30 to 39
Young Europeans seek work abroad
ACCORDING to the latest
Eurobarometer survey, 53
percent of young people in
Europe are willing or keen to
work in another European
country, but lack of money
discourages many of them
from taking a first step to-
wards doing so by spending
part of their education
abroad. The survey, conduc-
ted in the context of the
European Commission’s
(ÚPSVAR). Of Slovakia’s eight
regions, Trnava reported the
most vacancies – almost
1,900. The fewest vacancies
were reported by those re-
gions with the highest un-
employment rates: Banská
Bystrica (744 vacancies) and
Košice (581 vacancies).
During March, the num-
ber of new vacancies was 1,713,
while 4,762 vacancies were
filled during the same month.
(92,200), followed by the 40 to
49-year-old group (84,600).
Prešov and Košice Regions
topped the chart for the
highest numbers of unem-
ployed young people, with
24,400 and almost 21,000 in
the 20 to 29-year-old category,
respectively. On the other
hand, Bratislava and Trnava
Regions reported the lowest
youth unemployment, with
almost 5,100 and almost 8,400
young people searching for
jobs, respectively.
‘Youth on the Move’ strategy,
was published on the eve of
the 2011 European Youth
Week between May 15 and 21.
The survey highlighted a
huge gap between the wide-
spread desire of young people
to work abroad and actual
workforce mobility: less than
3 percent of Europe’s working
population currently lives
outside their home country.
Compiled by Spectator staff

hk}ly{pzltlu{

CARD: Doubts over who will seek one

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Continued from pg 6
“The target group should be highly-
educated experts. These will also pre-
sumably have high salaries,” Michal
Páleník of the Employment Institute, an
employment think tank, told The Slovak
hips
Schola rs le! Spectator, adding that establishing the
ab
now ava il card’s technical conditions is important
because the card should be not abused to
fill standard work positions. “It is also ne-
cessary to have in mind the lives of family
members of Blue Card holders. They
should also have the possibility to get a
job here so the family can fully integrate
into society.”
Kahanec perceives the Blue Card as a
commendable initiative on the part of the
EU but views its potential success in
Slovakia as questionable.
“The Blue Card has been watered
down under pressure from EU member
states and now it offers only fairly limited
options for potential immigrants,” said
Kahanec. “For example, it does not
provide for a transparent and straight-
forward transition to citizenship. Also, it
stipulates too high a threshold for the
minimum eligible earnings.”
To attract the required workers who
could fill bottlenecks in the Slovak la-
bour market, Kahanec thinks the coun-
try should adopt its own targeted migra-
SP90549/1
tion policy, suggesting that Slovakia
should issue its own ‘White-Blue-Red’
Card that would attract skilled immig-
rants to work, live and possibly natural-
ise in this country.
“Given the weak position of Slovakia
in the global competition for skilled
workers, the ‘White-Blue-Red’ Card
should stipulate relatively mild
conditions,” said Kahanec. “For ex-
ample, a university degree and an ad-
equate job in Slovakia should suffice. In
this way, the market would also solve
the question of which jobs should be
filled by immigrants.”
Since the Blue Card is targeted only
at highly-skilled immigrants, Kahanec
understands the reasons for the re-
quirement that a Blue Card applicant
must earn more than 1.5 times the aver-
age salary in Slovakia, but thinks it is too
limiting.
“In particular, it can be expected to se-
lect precisely those immigrants that have
a high earning potential and are in all like-
lihood quite skilled,” said Kahanec.
“However, I find this threshold too re-
strictive for many occupations. Imagine a
young teacher who would like to come to
Slovakia to teach mathematics at a high
school. Such a person in my view clearly
qualifies for the special regime offered by
the Blue Card. But one can hardly expect
that teacher to earn more than 1.5 times
the average salary in Slovakia. “
Kahanec added that this logic can be
applied to many other positions such as
physicians or younger workers in general.
“It is precisely such young and skilled
people that can help alleviate Slovakia’s
demographic and labour market
challenges,” Kahanec stressed, and that
is why he has proposed the ‘White-Blue-
Red’ Card.
Few migrants in Slovakia
The share of migrants and their fam-
ilies in Slovakia’s population of 5.4 mil-
lion is less than 1 percent according to
the results of a survey focusing on work
migration conducted by the Institute of
Public Affairs among a sample of 350 re-
spondents in 2010 and 2011. Migrants
with a university degree dominated
among those surveyed, accounting for
47 percent.
Based on statistics released by the La-
bour, Social Affairs and Family Office
(ÚPSVAR) in January, there were almost
18,200 foreigners working in Slovakia at
the end of 2010. This was an increase of
3,000 compared to the end of 2009, the
SITA newswire reported. Romanians are
the largest group, numbering over 2,900,
up 538 compared with 2009.

NBÚ: Sulík dismisses 'pseudo-reasons'
Continued from pg 1
But on May 11 the SDKÚ
parliamentary caucus poured
cold water on Paluda’s
chances by voting to oppose
his candidacy.
Reasons for the ‘no’
SDKÚ MPs initially failed
to explain their objections to
Paluda, causing more bad
blood among the parties dur-
ing the tense mid-May run-up
to the secret vote on the gen-
eral prosecutor in which
Radičová’s future as prime
minister was at stake.
After their meeting,
SDKÚ caucus leader Jozef
Mikuš refused to specify any
reasons for his MPs’ decision,
stating only that it would
‘not be appropriate’ to make
public statements on the
matter in order not to harm
Paluda’s name.
“It is as if someone poured
a bucket of dirt on you and you
cannot say anything,” Paluda
reacted in an interview with
the Sme daily.
Political analyst Grigorij
Mesežnikov of the Institute
for Public Affairs (IVO) said
the SDKÚ’s stance was not le-
gitimate. Such decisions
should be explained, he said.
“They shouldn’t now be
surprised if their candidates
in the future don’t win the
support of the remaining
three coalition partners,” he
noted, adding that at least an
internal explanation would
be sufficient.
On May 19 the SDKÚ fi-
nally decided to explain its
decision. It gave four main
reasons for opposing Paluda:
his statement that he would
look into revoking previ-
ously issued security clear-
ances; his decision to sue the
Judicial Council for lost
earnings over then-justice
minister Štefan Harabin’s
decision to recall him from
Eurojust; SaS’s method of
announcing Paluda’s can-
didacy, i.e. going direct to
the media rather than brief-
ing its coalition partners in
advance; and what the SDKÚ
said was Paluda’s lack of
managerial experience.
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Web Site: www.bratislavainternationalchurch.org
Peter Paluda
The final reason had
already been cited in media
reports. However, Paluda
himself responded to that
claim in a brief interview
with the Sme daily by asking:
“What kind of managerial
skills had Mr [František]
Blanárik?”
Blanárik, the outgoing
NBÚ boss, was an alleged
former agent for the commun-
ist-era military intelligence
agency and stepped down
from his NBÚ post under in-
tense media pressure after re-
ports about his past were re-
published earlier this year.
SaS accepts only one reason
Responding to the SDKÚ
list, SaS leader Richard Sulík
said that he could accept only
the first of its reasons, and
called the remaining three
"pseudo-reasons". But he con-
firmed that SaS would no
longer insist on Paluda’s can-
didacy, as it had previously
said it would.
Echoing Mesežnikov’s
comments, Sulík said SaS
would not rule out using its
right to veto other coalition
parties’ candidates in future.
SDKÚ divisions
Unlike the majority of the
SDKÚ caucus, Radičová says
she still considers Paluda an
acceptable candidate.
“I consider him a prin-
ciple-driven person and [the
rejection] does not change my
attitude at all,” SITA reported
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Photo: Sme - Tomáš Benedikovič
her as saying after her party
had rejected his nomination.
The only other member of the
SDKÚ who is known to have
supported Paluda during the
caucus session is another
former judge, now an SDKÚ
MP, Jana Dubovcová.
The opposing opinions
within the party have once
again provoked debate about
the cohesion of the SDKÚ and
the prime minister’s position
within her own party. Even
Defence Minister Ľubomír
Galko, an SaS nominee, hinted
at problems within the SDKÚ
CODE: Days off
Continued from pg 4
An employee’s probation-
ary period would remain un-
changed at three months un-
der the proposed revision, ex-
cept that a period of up to six
months would be allowed for
managerial staff. The draft
amendment would also intro-
duce so-called shared posts,
making it possible for an em-
ployer to divide work usually
designated as only one job pos-
ition between two employees.
The proposal would also
give an employer the option
of negotiating a combination
of severance pay and layoff
notice period with an em-
ployee and would eliminate
the employer’s legal obliga-
tion to provide laid off em-
ployees with both notice and
severance pay.
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in his blog entry from May 15
entitled ‘The time has come
for a change or we will not give
up Paluda’.
“The prime minister being
slapped in a live broadcast by
people of her own party is
something I cannot get used
to,” he wrote.
Galko said he is con-
vinced that the current situ-
ation is harming the whole
coalition and called on his
coalition colleagues to put
their cards on the table.
“If someone wants to
break this government and
rule with [opposition party]
Smer” then they have to de-
clare it openly and not
through intrigues and
games, he said.
Mesežnikov agreed that
the present situation, if it con-
tinues, might increase tension
among the coalition partners
and break the trust between
them. He noted that the SDKÚ
often takes a strange stance on
personnel issues.
“If there are disqualifying
factors [for the candidate], co-
alition partners of course have
the right to veto the
nomination,” he said. “But in
Paluda’s case there was noth-
ing like that.”
The draft revision would
automatically entitle em-
ployees who are aged 33 and
older to 25 days of annual
holiday leave.
Employees who have
worked for a company for at
least one year but less than
five years would continue to
have the existing layoff no-
tice period of at least two
months.
Employees who have
worked for a company for at
least five years but less than
10 years would be entitled to
at least a three-month notice
period; those with 10 but less
than 20 years of service would
receive at least a four-month
notice period; and those with
20 or more years of employ-
ment would have at least a
five-month notice period, the
SITA newswire reported.
1. Pri ces o f cl assified ads
(according to no. of words)
● Up to 20 words - € 10
● Up to 50 words - € 20
● Up to 70 words - € 30
● Up to 100 words - € 40
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Addit ional opt ions
● Logo or picture insertion
Bold or capital bold letters + € 0.3/word
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2. Prices for business
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or (91 x 43 mm) € 50
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●
Frequency discounts:
3x - 10x
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● 20x and more
NO TE :
Prices do not include value added
tax (VAT 19%)!
May 23 – 29, 2011 9
OPEN: Austria
fears dumping
Continued from pg 3 often exceeds the normal
wages of Slovak workers.
But he noted that the Foreign companies active in
Austrian labour market has the Austrian labour market
never actually been closed to are also obliged to observe
workers from Slovakia and Austrian national holidays
other ‘new’ EU member and Austrian rules for vaca-
states during the transition tions for workers.
period, as there were legal Social and wage dumping
ways to be admitted to work could also occur in Austrian
in Austria. He said that companies employing work-
90,000 people from the eight ers from new member states
countries were legally em- who seek to take advantage
ployed in Austria in 2010, of the fact that foreigners
whereas the number of might not be well informed
workers from the ‘old’ EU about their rights.
countries (the pre-2004 EU15) Companies who violate
amounted to about 101,000. the rules can face fines of up
Further west, the Ger- to €50,000, or double that if
man government reports a the offence is repeated.
yearly inflow of 100,000 to After the Austrian gov-
140,000 immigrants from the ernment passed AVRAG, the
eight countries, despite the chairman of the Slovak par-
transition period; these liamentary committee for
numbers are not expected to European affairs, Ivan
change significantly after Štefanec, wrote an open let-
the market opens up, the ter to the Austrian Ambas-
SITA newswire reported. The sador to Slovakia to request
majority of immigrants to his assistance in breaking
Germany come from Poland. down the barriers that he be-
Estimates of the scale of lieves the bill imposes for
future migration vary wildly Slovak companies.
in Germany, the Financial Štefanec said that the law
Times reported. While the introduces inappropriate
European Commission ex- administrative barriers for
pects no more than 100,000 foreign, including Slovak,
extra people to come to
Germany each year, the
German government puts
employers, and that it inter-
feres in free contractual rela-
tionships, including wage-
the figure at 140,000. But the related ones, between an
Institute for the German employee and his or her em-
Economy in Cologne be- ployer in Slovakia in the case
lieves there could be an ini- that the employee is sent to
tial surge of up to 800,000 Austria on business.
more in the first two years. “The only effect of this
Markus Halt, the measure is the negative sig-
spokesperson of the Slovak- nal that in the united
German Chamber of Com- Europe – even now, after
merce, said that in Germany seven years of ‘testing’
there is a lack of skilled la- membership has elapsed –
bour in the technical and all [members] are still not
medical professions. equal,” Štefanec wrote.
“Among several meas- Štefanec has also been in
ures the country wants to touch with the European
fill the gap also by recruiting Commission over the mat-
labour from abroad, in par- ter and says that the find-
ticular from central and ings of the EC have proved
eastern Europe,” Halt told several times in the past
The Slovak Spectator. Ac- that most barriers in this
cording to him, the most area are ineffective.
frequently sought profes- Ambassador Wuketich
sionals from Slovakia and its said that Austria’s objective is
neighbours in Germany are to secure its traditionally high
doctors and craftsmen. social and labour standards
for both Austrian and foreign
Austria’s tactic workers. He maintained that
it is legitimate under EU regu-
Prior to opening its la- lations and said the act is only
bour market – a move it one step towards supporting
could not avoid after the these goals. There have also
seven-year-long maximum been workshops and joint
transition period had projects between the Austrian
elapsed – the Austrian gov- Public Employment Service
ernment, however, took and the Slovak Labour, Social
+ €7
measures to prevent what it Affairs and Family Office to
+ €3 called social and wage provide information about
+ €7 dumping, in the form of the the functioning of the Austri-
Anti-Wage and Social Dump- an labour market, he said.
ing Act (AVRAG). “With a view to good re-
According to this law, all lationships with our neigh-
foreign employees are en- bours we have launched ex-
titled to the minimum wage pert talks on labour market
or the wage set by the collect- questions also with the Slov-
ive treaty, which in practice ak side that are to continue,”
5%
means that companies from Ambassador Wuketich said,
7,5% Slovakia who hope to enter adding that on May 9 the
15% the Austrian market and Austrian Federal Minister of
seek new orders will have to Labour and Social Affairs met
pay their employees the Aus- his Slovak counterpart to
trian minimum wage, which discuss the matter.
10 May 23 – 29, 2011
Duelling counts of Pezinok
THE TOWNS of Pezinok and
Svätý Jur in the Small
Carpathians belonged for
three centuries to the
families of the Counts of
Svätý Jur and Pezinok.
However, at the end
of the 14th century,
Moravian margraves Jošt and
Prokop seized control of Svätý
Jur and Pezinok – and the
counts sought to get their
properties returned.
A duel almost transpired
between Juraj II from the
Pezinok line and Peter II from
the Svätý Jur line of the
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Weather updates and forecasts from across Slovakia
can now be found at www.spectator.sk.
In cooperation with the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute
counts. And what exactly
happened?
In 1399, Peter gained the
HISTORY TALKS
Pezinok Castle back from the
Moravian margraves for Juraj
for 4,000 golden ducats. He
did not pay the money back,
however, and denied that he
had given any promise to do
so. Moreover, he threw down
the gauntlet and challenged
Peter to a duel because his
<J>9:'%&&
CULTURE
reputation had been harmed.
Peter refused, however, and
the whole dispute was appar-
ently resolved through an
oath.
In this postcard from
the 1920s, the oldest
Pezinok church – dedic-
ated to the Virgin Mary – can
be seen. The two counts were
among its donors and Juraj I
is buried there. His Gothic
epitaph belongs among the
oldest monuments preserved
in the church.
By Branislav Covan
Western SLOVAKIA
Bratislava
l CLASSICAL MUSIC:
koncert
Jarný
japonsko-
slovenského priateľstva /
Spring Concert of Japanese-
Slovak Friendship – This event
organised by the Japanese
Embassy and the local Aca-
demy of Performing Arts
brings two outstanding Ja-
panese opera singers, tenor
Keitaro Mizufune and soprano
Kazuki Ohara, performing Ja-
panese songs plus arias from
operas by Tchaikovsky,
Dvořák and Smetana, as well
as the song Pieseň o rodnej
zemi by G. Dusík and P. Brax-
atoris.
Starts: May 26, 19:00;
Dvorana music hall, Zochova
1. Admission: free (it advisable
to book tickets in advance).
Tel: 02/5980-0101; www.sk.
emd-japan.go.jp.
Bratislava
l LIVE MUSIC: Thierry and
Friends – A versatile musician
who hails from Africa, Thierry
Ebam has become a well-
known figure on the local mu-
sical scene. His concerts, vary-
ing from African percussion
pieces to reggae, are a feast of
good atmosphere and relaxed,
friendly fun.
Starts: May 27 20:00; Hlava
XXII music bar, Bazová 9. Ad-
mission: €5. More info:
www.hlava22.sk.
Bratislava
l CLASSICAL MUSIC: Večer
piesní / Evening of Songs - Si-
mona Eisinger, Bernadette
Bartos – Eisinger, a young pi-
anist and coloratura soprano
who hails from Slovakia but
now sings in Vienna, will join
forces with pianist Bartos to
perform works by G. Mahler,
E. Křenek, A. Zemlinsky and R.
Strauss.
Starts: May 25, 18:00; Moz-
art Hall of Austrian Embassy,
Ventúrska 10. Admission: free.
Tel: 02/5464-1337;
rakusko.eu/sk.
www.
Bratislava
l SHOW ON ICE: Hviezdny
ľad / Starry Ice – A troupe of
former world champions in
figure skating and current
professionals, including
Alexei Yagudin, Ilya Aver-
buch, Irina Slutskaya and oth-
er familiar names, comes to
offer a spectacular show.
THE SPRING Jazz Days continue with a concert on May 29 in
Nitra’s synagogue by Austrian band Hot Pants Road Club
(above); the Slovak winner of TV’s Superstar contest Katka
Koščová; and the young, recently discovered Slovak talent
Vanda. Hot Pants Road Club is an eight-member funk-blues or-
chestra which has already put out 10 albums. Katka Koščová has
shifted her repertory from pop to jazz and chanson. Admission
will be a symbolic €1. For more info not only about this concert
but about the whole spring series, please go to www.bjd.sk.
N A M E
Monday Tuesday
Îelmíra Ela
May 23 May 24
A Slovak’s name day (meniny) is as important as his or her birthday. It is traditional to present friends or co-workers with a small gift,
such as chocolates or flowers, and to wish them Všetko najlepšie k meninám (Happy name day)
EVENTS COUNTRYWIDE
THE TWO current exhibitions at the Danubiana Meulensteen
Art Museum in Čunovo, near Bratislava, present the works of
Hungarian artist Ilona Keserü Ilona, in Colour - Joy - Picture (an
extract from which is pictured above), and Slovak artist Rudolf
Sikora, in At Last Man Knows. Both exhibitions in the gallery,
which is focused on contemporary visual art, represent a mutual
creative dialogue. Until June 12, they can be seen Tue-Sun
10:00-20:00, on the ‘Island of Art’ near Vodné dielo/ Waterworks
Čunovo. For more information, please call 02/6252-8501; or go to
www.danubiana.sk.
Starts: May 28, 17:00; On-
drej Nepela Ice Stadium, Od-
bojárov 9. Admission: €14-
€44. Tel: 02/5203-3321; www.
ticketportal.sk.
Bratislava
l EXHIBITION: Mo(nu)ment
Part II – In this, the second
part of a profile exhibition by
Milan Vagač, the art student
addresses the issue of the
statue in public space. Vagač
wanders through Bratislava’s
streets, pulling a statue pedes-
tal behind him on a string,
discovering new contexts and
uses for it on his way.
Open: Tue-Sun 14:00-19:00
until June 5; Galéria 19, Laza-
retská 19. Admission: free. Tel:
02/5292-6651;
galeria19.sk.
www.
Kúty
l FOOD FESTIVAL: Festival
dobrého jedla / Festival of
Good Food – The second year of
this successful festival brings
even more attractions for
children, a non-stop cinema, a
cultural programme and fun
into the small hours; includ-
ing forgotten local delicacies,
world cuisine, and more.
Starts: May 28, 10:00-
02:00; Radlinského Square.
Photo: Courtesy of BJD
D A Y M A Y
Wednesday Thursday
Urban Du‰an
Vivien
May 25 May 26
Photo: Courtesy of Danubiana
Admission: free. More info:
www.kuty.sk.
Central SLOVAKIA
Žilina
l LIVE MUSIC: The Kofola
Sessions - The Burning Hell,
Phoebe Kreutz – Burning Hell,
a Canadian band playing di-
verse musical styles who pre-
viously performed at the 2009
Pohoda Festival, is supported
by US singer Phoebe Kreutz.
Starts: May 24, 20:00; Stan-
ica Žilina-Záriečie, Závodská
3. Admission: €3-€4. Tel: 041/
5005-064; www.stanica.sk.
Liptovský Mikuláš
l EXHIBITION: Písmenkovo –
This exhibition for children, or-
ganised by the Buvik publishing
house, shows what magic and
intriguing things can be done
with písmenká, i.e. letters of
the alphabet, in a playful way.
Open: Tue-Sun 10:00-17:00
until June 18; Liptovská
galéria P. M. Bohúňa, Tranov–
ského 3. Admission: €0.50-€1.
Tel: 044/5522-758; www.
galerialm.sk.
Eastern SLOVAKIA
Prešov
l MODEL CAR RACE: PKP R/C
Drift Cup, Round 4 - “Asphalt
Revenge” – This race for 1:10
scale radio-controlled model
on a tarmac surface.
Starts: May 28, 9:00-19:00;
ABC Leisure-time Centre.
Admission: free. More info:
www.rcautopresov.eu.
Košice
l BUTTERFLY EXHIBITION:
Motýle / Butterflies – An exhib-
ition of exotic butterflies
presents various insect species
from all over the world; visitors
can follow the emergence of
butterflies from their cocoons.
Open: 9:00-17:00 until Ju-
ne 30; Exposition Green-
house, Mánesova 23. Admis-
sion: €2. Tel: 055/2341-667;
www.bz.upjs.sk.
By Zuzana Vilikovská
2 0 1 1
Friday Saturday Sunday
Iveta Viliam Vilma
May 27 May 28 May 29

English-language academics
writing about Slovakia, Part III
BY OWEN V. JOHNSON
Special to the Spectator
THE DIVISION of Czechoslov-
akia nearly two decades ago in-
to Slovakia and the Czech Re-
public has contributed to the
publication of an increasing
number of original English-
language academic books by
authors that focus on Slovakia.
The Slovak Spectator
brings the third part of Owen
Johnson’s series reviewing
several academic books about
Slovakia.
***
Few people living in Brat-
islava today can imagine what
the city was like a century
ago, when the population was
predominantly German, the
political leadership was Hun-
garian, and Slovaks made up
less than one-fifth of the city’s
inhabitants. The city was
most often called Pressburg,
its German name.
Pieter C. van Duin, an in-
dependent historian of Dutch
origin, has written a book
that focuses on a key period of
that change, “Central
European Crossroads: Social
Democracy and National Re-
volution in Bratislava (Press-
burg), 1867-1921” (New York:
Berghahn Books).
The author is most inter-
ested in the first three years
after the founding of
Czechoslovakia in 1918, in par-
ticular how the new adminis-
tration folded the city into the
new state and how the various
populations responded to this
process. He devotes special at-
tention to the social democrat-
ic movement in Bratislava.
The author read extens-
ively from the newspapers of
the time to recreate the events
and people’s reaction to them,
and draws on extensive aca-
demic research in Czech, Slov-
ak, English, German and Hun-
garian to discern long-term
developmental trends.
Van Duin’s previous work,
in addition to several articles
on the period he studies here,
also includes an article on con-
temporary ethnic develop-
ments in Slovakia, but also
studies on national and ethnic
development in South Africa
in the eighteenth century.
“An exceptional book
about the history of social
democracy in Slovakia and, in
a broader geographic context,
central Europe,” said veteran
historian Hans Renner of the
University of Groningen. “The
range of sources and literature
used is most impressive.”
***
Alexander Maxwell writes
about how language helped to
create a Slovak identity, but
not in the way Slovak nation-
alists have told the story, in
his book “Choosing Slovakia:
Slavic Hungary, the
Czechoslovak Language & Ac-
Owen V. Johnson
cidental Nationalism” (Lon-
don & New York: I.B. Tauris).
Slovakia was part of Hun-
gary two hundred years ago
when Hungarians started to
undergo a national awakening.
Hungarian-speakers tried to as-
similate the country’s non-
Hungarian populations but its
Slavs adhered to a multi-ethnic
and multi-lingual idea of the
state where citizens could freely
use their native languages.
These Slavs willingly re-
cognised themselves as Hun-
garian citizens who spoke Pan-
Slav and Czech dialects. This
directly contradicts the tradi-
tional story that Slovak nation-
al leaders founded or re-foun-
ded the Slovak nation. To do
this he bridges the gap between
linguists and historians.
Linguists recognised that a
Slovak language could not
have been created in the 18th
or 19th century, but somehow
believed there was a primordi-
al Slovak nation. Historians,
on the other hand, knew that a
Slovak nation could not have
been created in the 18th and
19th centuries, but somehow
believed a Slovak language had
always existed.
According to Maxwell,
Ľudovít Štúr, who codified a
dialect of central Slovak in the
mid 19th century, saw it only
as reflecting the spoken
speech of part of the Slavic na-
tion. Thus he saw it as a dia-
lect, not a language.
This dual loyalty to a Slov-
ak identity and a larger iden-
tity persisted in different form
after the creation of
Czechoslovakia in 1918, ex-
plains Maxwell. The over-
whelming majority of Slovaks
were loyal to both a Slovak na-
tion and a Czechoslovak state.
He calls this a theory of “mul-
tiple and simultaneous na-
tional loyalties.”
Maxwell, a historian,
political scientist and lin-
guist, lectures in the School
of History, Philosophy, Polit-
ical Science and Internation-
al Relations at the University
of Wellington, New Zealand.
***
Zsuzsa Csergo, a political
scientist at George Washington
University, studies modern
CULTURE
Source: Sheila Lalwani
versions of language questions
in “Talk of the Nation: Lan-
guage & Conflict in Romania &
Slovakia” (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell
U. Press).
“The book speaks to the
power of domestic majority
and minority actors in making
democracy work under condi-
tions of continued nationalist
competition,” the author
writes. “By focusing on do-
mestic majority and minority
political elites and parties as
the key agents of change, this
book contributes to a more
balanced understanding of the
way international and do-
mestic actors work together to
move multiethnic societies
beyond cultural division.”
Csergo delineates how the
Vladimír Mečiar-led govern-
ment of newly-independent
Slovakia supported the concept
of an ethnically defined Slovak
nation. Slovaks and Hungari-
ans opposed to him joined to-
gether to develop a more inclus-
ive definition of what it means
to be Slovak when they came to
power democratically in 1998.
“This is an elegant and
empirically rich comparative
study,” notes Professor Valer-
ie Bunce of Cornell, one of the
leading specialists in the US
on eastern European politics.
“Perhaps her most important
argument is that struggles
between elites and parties
representing the majority
versus the minority kept the
national question alive, while
contributing to the process of
democratic development.”
“Csergo’s contributions are
extremely valuable and should
be taken seriously by both
scholars and policymakers
working on issues of European
integration and the complexit-
ies of multilingual and mul-
tinational political com-
munity more broadly,’ writes
Nadya Nedelsky. “Her clearly
written and detailed account
of the zigzagging paths of lan-
guage regulation in education,
public spaces and government
is the most comprehensive
treatment in the English-lan-
guage literature.
***
Following the comparat-
ive pattern of Kevin Deegan-
Krause, who examined Slov-
ak and Czech politics in their
independent states (see re-
view in The Slovak Spectator,
Aug. 9), Nadya Nedelsky, in
her book “Defining the Sov-
ereign Community: The
Czech and Slovak Republics”
(University of Pennsylvania
Press), takes a longer histor-
ical perspective in an at-
tempt to understand why the
Czech and Slovak states
chose different definitions of
sovereignty when the old
Czechoslovakia split and
what that has meant in the
ensuing years.
“The Czech Constitution
employs a civic model,” she
notes, “founding the state in
the name of ‘the citizens of
the Czech Republic,’ while
the Slovak Constitution uses
the more exclusive ethnic
model and speaks in the
voice of ‘the Slovak Nation.’”
Nedelsky, an associate
professor of International
Studies at Macalester Col-
lege, received her PhD in
political science from the
University of Toronto in
2001. She is currently work-
ing as co-editor with Lavinia
Stan on a two-volume Encyc-
lopaedia of Transitional
Justice, under contract with
Cambridge University Press.
Nedelsky uses six of the
nine chapters in the book to
show the different ways in
which Czechs and Slovaks
have understood nationhood
over the course of six differ-
ent governing systems in a
century and a half, and how
it contributed to their differ-
ing definitions of sover-
eignty. In turn, she applies
that understanding to com-
pare how Slovaks have
treated the Hungarian
minority in Slovakia and
how the Czechs have treated
the Roma minority in the
Czech Republic.
While she acknowledges
that the politics of the na-
tional and socialist govern-
ments in Slovakia have
differed from liberal gov-
ernments since 1993, Nedel-
sky argues that even though
the liberals are more tolerant
of minorities, they have not
offered a more coherent de-
fence of how minority rights
and civic equality relate to
the principle of ethnic sover-
eignty. The ethnic model of-
fers less support for civil and
minority rights than the
civic model does.
“Nedelsky's conclusions
challenge much analysis of
the region, which tends to
explain ethnic politics by fo-
cusing on post communist
factors, especially the role of
opportunistic political
leaders,” rather than looking
at historical factors, her pub-
lisher says. “Looking ahead,
Nedelsky offers crucial evid-
ence that nationalism may
remain strong in Slovakia
and the Czech Republic, even
in the face of democratisation
and EU integration, and is an
important threat to both.”
Books in English
now available
The Color Purple. Alice
Walker. Phoenix Paper-
backs, 2004 re-edition.
The winner of the
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in
1983 and the National Book
Award, this is the life story of
Celie, a young black girl born
into poverty and segregation
in the American South who
endures a series of blows be-
fore meeting Shug Avery, a
singer
LITERARY CORNER
and
magic-
maker,
from
whom she learns how to take
control of her own destiny,
free herself of her traumatic
past and reunite with her
loved ones. The book was
made into a film directed by
Steven Spielberg and starred
Whoopi Goldberg (as Celie),
Danny Glover and Oprah
Winfrey.
The Lost World. Arthur
Conan Doyle. Oxford
World’s Classics, 2008 re-
edition.
This classic adventure
story could have been called
a fantasy, had it not been
written in 1912 before that
genre was established. The
tale of a scientific expedition
headed by Professor Chal-
lenger that sets out to ex-
plore a mysterious plateau in
the Amazon rainforest re-
mains witty, enthralling and
attractive a hundred years
on. The adventurers find
themselves trapped in a
world lost in time, inhabited
by dinosaurs and ape-men.
Their situation forces them
to fight for survival. This edi-
tion is complete with ex-
planatory notes and explores
the work’s cultural contexts.
Bratislava’s Galéria Z turns 15
ONE OF the three galleries
located in the Zichy Palace
in central Bratislava is
Galéria Z, which this year
celebrates its 15th birthday.
The gallery, which special-
ises in contemporary art by
both Slovak and foreign
artists, is the dream-come-
true of local artist Viktor
Hulík. Galéria Z’s first public
exhibition opened on March
28, 1996, Hulík recalled. It
was made possible with the
support of the capital’s Old
Town district and Agentúra
Artlines, and in fact all the
gallery’s financial resources
have been secured through
sponsorship.
Over the past 15 years,
134 exhibitions have presen-
ted 1,497 artists from 33
countries. The most recent,
a commemorative one, fea-
tured works by 36 renowned
artists who had previously
exhibited in Galéria Z, in-
cluding personalities who
helped shape local art such
as Slovaks Milan Paštéka,
Jozef Jankovič, Vladimír
May 23 – 29, 2011 11
Limitless. Alan Glynn.
Faber and Faber, 2011 re-
edition (previously pub-
lished as The Dark Fields).
The idea seems so attract-
ive and pioneering: imagine
a drug that made your brain
function to its full potential,
allows you to pick up a for-
eign language in a single day
or spot stock-market pat-
terns... Eddie Spinota comes
across
such a
pill; but
while
its be-
nefits materialise quickly, so
do certain side-effects. And
when he decides to find other
users of the drug, he soon dis-
covers that they are all dying
– or dead. This book was re-
cently turned into a film star-
ring Bradley Cooper, Abbie
Cornish and Robert De Niro.
Idioms and Phrasal
Verbs; Advanced. Ruth
Gairns and Stuart Redman.
Oxford University Press
2011.
A handbook for both the
classroom and self-study
enhances the vocabulary
and use of idioms, fixed
phrases, similes, proverbs
and sayings for use in
presentations, discussion
and elsewhere. It is recom-
mended for intermediate,
upper-intermediate and ad-
vanced learners.
This column is a selection by The
Slovak Spectator of English-
language books recently released
in Slovakia; it does not represent
an endorsement of any of the
books selected. The column is
prepared in cooperation with the
Oxford Bookshop Bratislava,
located at Laurinská 9.
Kompánek, Viera Kraicová,
Rudolf Krivoš, Andrej
Rudavský, Miloš Urbásek,
Rudolf Sikora, Vladimír
Gažovič and Rudolf Fila and
Czechs Věra Janoušková,
Jiří Kolář, Dalibor Chatrný
and Radoslav Kratina.
The gallery's concept is
not narrowly defined, al-
though geometric and con-
structivist tendencies pre-
vail. The methods and tech-
niques exhibited are even
more diverse. One of the
gallery’s main achieve-
ments is its international
summer event Socha a ob-
jekt (Statue and Object),
which places artworks in
direct contact with audi-
ences – in streets, gardens
and other outdoor locations
in Bratislava – so that people
who normally do not visit
galleries see the power of
art. Since 1996, the event
has grown from a modest
local activity into a huge in-
ternational exposition.
Compiled by Spectator staff
12 May 23 – 29, 2011 FEATURE

AROUND SLOVAKIA compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports

Milestone
for track
ON MAY 11,

4
1966 a spe-
cial train
travelled
from Uzhgo-
rod in the
Tigers in Bratislava USSR to Haniska, near
Košice, with a government
delegation. It was the in-
BRATISLAVA The mother of the augural journey on the first

1
Zoo and its
employees are
happily wel-
coming three
cubs born to
the zoo’s protected white ti-
gers (Panthera tigris).
“The newborns are healthy,
viable and their mother is tak-
ing care of them excellently,”
Miloslava Šavelová, the zoo’s
chief, told the TASR newswire
in early May.
Despite one cub’s initial
problems gaining weight,
when it had to be fed substi-
tute milk from a bottle, their
growth has otherwise been
very good.
triplets is five-years-old Shil-
ang, who came to Bratislava
from the zoo in Cora-Lisieux,
France in October 2006.
The father of the off-
spring, all of which are fe-
male, is Achilles, nine years
old, who came to Bratislava
several weeks after Shilang.
“Nature made Shilang a
mother for the third time
now, this time with
triplets. Achilles is separ-
ated from the family as it is
usual in natural environ-
ments that the male does
not help in taking care of
and raising the cubs,”
Šavelová stated.
The exhibition of studio wedding portraits in Malinová.
Marriage portraits celebrate
Slovakia’s 'month of love'
MEMBERS of
taken in a studio, while wear-
Photo:TASR
ised, a popular trend before
broad-gauge railway track
built in Czechoslovakia.
The 95 kilometres of track
were opened 45 years ago
primarily to transport iron
ore to what was then called
the Eastern Slovak Steel-
works (VSŽ), but is now
known as U.S. Steel Košice,
the TASR newswire wrote.
The countries of the
former Soviet Union
mostly use broad-gauge
railways – as do Finland,
Spain and Portugal and
many Asian countries –
with a width of 1,520 mil-
limetres. Czechoslovakia,
along with another 60 per-
cent of the world, uses
standard-gauge tracks of
1,435 millimetres.

2
the Union of
Women of
Slovakia (Únia
žien Slovenska,
ÚŽS) in the
town of Malinová prepared an
exhibition of historical wed-
ding portraits to mark
Slovakia’s “month of love” at
the beginning of May.
Malinová, in the Horná Ni-
tra region, has regularly hos-
ted an exhibition of handi-
crafts or needlework in May
for almost 50 years but this
year photographs of newly-
weds were added to the event.
Though the tradition
seems to have changed its
form now, in days past almost
every married couple ordered
an official portrait by a profes-
sional photographer, often
ing their wedding attire.
Eva Benková, the chair of
ÚŽS Malinová, told the TASR
newswire that many couples
tended to frame and hang
their portraits in a bedroom as
a memory of their big day and
to commemorate their love.
Benková said she was inspired
not only by her own wedding
photo but also by the portraits
of marital bliss taken of her
mother and grandmother and
thought it would be nice to
show off her old photographs
to others. She added that she
had no idea how successful the
idea would be among other
residents.
Almost 50 portraits were
offered, mostly black and
white, made in period studios.
Some of them had been colour-
the advent of colour photo-
graphy. The oldest photograph
was from the 1930 marriage of
Florián Schön, a Malinová res-
ident. Several people also
offered unframed, smaller
portraits from their weddings.
Local visitors reportedly
spent a lot of time in friendly
quarrels attempting to guess
the identity of those in the
photographs. The exhibition
turned out to be a testimony to
an older period and an inter-
esting historical display not
only about people but also
about fashion – about the
wedding attire of brides and
grooms in changing periods.
Benková said the exhibition
was a great success and thinks
it should be repeated from
time to time.
The need arose to build
the broad-gauge track when
iron ore began to be trans-
ported from the Soviet Uni-
on to the Košice steelworks,
known then as VSŽ.
The broad-gauge line
begins in Uzhgorod, then
crosses the border at the
village of Maťovce before
continuing directly to the
steelworks south of Košice.
Construction of the
track commenced on
March 16, 1964, and trial
operation of the railway
started on May 1, 1966.
As the track was built
very hastily, numerous
flaws later surfaced and
services have, on occasion,
had to be suspended for
critical repairs.

Would you like a church in Kvetnica?

THE BUILDING of the dia but the head of Seniorpark, Adela place for government propaganda docu-

A white tiger cub in action.
3
Church of St Helen in the
Photo:SITA Poprad suburb of Kvet-
nica, which is owned by
Seniorpark, a non-profit
Dovalovská, posted a statement on ments and bulletins for the next 40 years.
Seniorpark’s website. The church began to hold Roman
“Not everything said by a priest dur- Catholic masses again after 1989. Church
ing a mass in church is the naked truth. members from Kvetnica and Poprad re-

Austrian cops nab organisation that oper-

ates a seniors’ home in the town, will be
donated to any organisation that will
Thus, I decided as a human being, as a
citizen, as a believer, to donate the
church to a foundation, religion, civic as-
constructed the church and furnished it
anew in the 1990s. At that time the own-
er of the building was the Institute for

high-speed Slovak maintain the church’s original purpose.

AT THE end of April a Slovak
driver, aged 24, had his
driver’s licence confiscated
by Austrian police after he
was clocked driving at 230
kilometres per hour on a
highway near Salzburg.
The driver’s Chevrolet
was monitored by an un-
marked police car and his
speed ranged between 210
and 230 kilometres per hour,
the Austrian APA newswire
wrote. The speed limit on
Austrian highways is 130
kilometres per hour.
The “road pirate” was re-
quired to leave his licence
with the officers and was al-
lowed to continue his trip –
to Switzerland – as a passen-
ger, after posting bail. The
identity of the speeder was
not released.
The Poprad Roman Catholic parish
had signed a 15-year agreement to rent
the church from Seniorpark at an annual
cost of a single symbolic euro last Au-
gust, and Anton Opatovský, the adminis-
trator of the parish, told the SITA news-
wire that he had no idea why Seniorpark
had now terminated the lease and an-
nounced an open competition to donate
the church building to another organisa-
tion, adding that his parish would seek to
obtain ownership of the building.
Representatives of the non-profit or-
ganisation made no comment to the me-
sociation, or non-profit organisation that
acts in compliance with moral and ethic-
al principles, does not manipulate, lie,
hurt intentionally, connive, and that
helps selflessly. Because a church should
not be a place of hatred and a cradle of
evil, it should in no case be demolished
and it must serve believers who are not
under the influence of envy and malice, I
decided to donate it, instead of liquidat-
ing it,” the statement reads.
The Church of St Helen was built in
1910 and consecrated by the Bishop of
Spiš. It served as a place of worship until
the early 1950s when it became a storage
Respiratory Diseases. Later, ownership
of the church building changed hands
several times until it subsequently went
to Seniorpark.
Seniorpark said it would form a
committee to evaluate potential owners,
who have been asked to state three reas-
ons why they should be chosen, and to
specify their goals and set out how the
building will be used.
The non-profit also stated that any
future owner must agree not to assign
ownership of the building to anyone else
for 50 years and to then return it back to
Seniorpark.