Editorial
Diplomatic circles in the European Union and NATO are worried about the latest war of words between Slovakia and Hungary. What strikes me is the inability of these countries to see the bigger picture. May 2010 represented the most serious challenge to the existence of the euro as a viable European currency and by extension the greatest threat to a united Europe.Meanwhile small countries on the EU periphery squabble like children, unaware of the threat hanging over them. The incoming Hungarian government has revealed its deficit is far greater than previously stated, almost at Greek proportions. Meanwhile Slovakia’s small business sector is suffering from more bankruptices than ever before. These countries should focus on three things - economics! economics! economics!
The election might bring about welcome changes. Time for Jan Slota and his SNS party to be kicked out of any coalition. You sense Slota’s nervousness when he says about his coaltion partner, “Fico would even go along with Lucifer just to get to the trough.”
More and more companies are conducting breathalyser tests on their employees for alcohol. PSA Peugeot-Citroen did 7,000 tests last year and terminated employment immediately in 38 cases. Casual daytime alcohol abuse is a frequent cause of injury and a shocking statistic in Slovak social life. Could this be a reason that one in two marriages in Slovakia now end in divorce?
Politicans like to blame the failure of the marriage institution on the gays. Perhaps on instruction, the police failed to protect those who took part in May’s Rainbow Pride Bratislava 2010 parade from mean-faced skinheads. If these shaven cohorts of Slota are ever allowed to be the future of Slovakia, forget about neighbourly relations with Hungary, forget about social tolerance for gays and other minorites. God help us!
James Mackintosh
Publisher Business/What's On Slovakia
