September 20, 2011
Having suffered painful, self-imposed economic reforms, Slovakia doesn't see why it should help bail out euro-zone partners like Greece. Prime Minister Iveta Radicova is trying to talk her country into solidarity, but has become increasingly isolated in her position.
Last Wednesday Slovak teachers took to the street, more than 8,000 of them striding along the asphalt of Bratislava's old city center. There they voiced anger about poor pay and dilapidated schools. "We've been tightening our belts for decades," shouted one speaker, "and our trousers are still falling down."
On Thursday the doctors' union reported that 1,500 doctors out of a total 6,500 working in state-run hospitals want to resign in protest of unsatisfactory pay and poorly equipped facilities.
The government under the Prime Minister Iveta Radicova has turned the population against itself. Despite an impressive economic record, the country is still Europe's second poorest and in some regions one in three people are unemployed. The government leader has adopted a tough cost-cutting plan and can hardly dare asking for more from her people. But that's exactly what she must do: Slovakia is obligated to contribute some €7.7 billion ($10.9 billion) to the euro-rescue fund. It's a hefty sum for the formerly communist country with a mere 5.4 million inhabitants. At the moment it is highly unlikely that Radicova can rally a parliamentary majority to support the plan.
In Brussels the Slovaks are already notorious for their lack of solidarity. A year ago the prime minister and subsequently the parliament rejected calls to provide any financial help for Greece . Slovakia has put up with painful reforms "without being given a cent," the prime minister argued back then.
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