Monitor: Miklosko: We're Moving Away from November 1989

(JOJ 24,'Politika 24', 16 November ) The strongest weapon in Slovak history was the power of non-violent resistance, but Slovakia is now moving away from the path set out in November 1989 and things are getting vulgar, opposition MP from the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) caucus and important November 1989 figure Frantisek Miklosko stated on JOJ 24's discussion programme 'Politika 24' (Politics 24) on Sunday, pointing to the need for decency as the truth can be conveyed calmly. "Evil has great power. But evil is also capable of self-destruction – evil destroys itself. It is important that there are people ready to carry on the continuity of decency and democracy, that there are ten righteous ones who, when change comes again, can step onto the stage," said Miklosko. He also rejected vulgarisation of society and politics and warned about erosion of democracy. "I don't want to engage in such politics," he noted, adding that Slovakia is currently experiencing a crisis of governance. In this connection, he pointed to chalk messages across Slovakia in reference to last week's incident outside a grammar school in Poprad. Miklosko warned that the political scene is fragmented, adding that the opposition needs a leader who would find a consensus among political parties. In his view, the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) and Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) are currently moving more towards the centre. According to him, KDH must remain a decent party of decent people so that it doesn't disappear from politics, otherwise its votes could be taken over by populists. He noted that during his time KDH was strong because it did not force its views on people. Conservatism should be based on proven values, while also remaining open to values that haven't stood the test of time yet. "Conservatism shouldn't be some form of orthodoxy," said Miklosko. He plans to remain in the KDH parliamentary caucus. "As long as they don't send me away, I'll stay," he said, adding that he would reconsider his stance "if KDH were to shift towards some form of radicalism". Today, according to him, the Christian Union can be seen as an example of radicalism. jrg