Former Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič may have left politics ten years ago, but that doesn't mean he doesn't follow it closely. He still meets with various politicians and certainly has a lot to say about current events in Slovakia.
You recently received the Jozef Miloslav Hurban State Award. What does it mean to you, ten years after your departure from politics?
I didn't even realize it's been ten years already because life goes by quickly, especially in politics. Slovakia is dealing with major political turmoil today, which is also evidenced by the fact that it has had five prime ministers in the last ten years. This forces one to follow domestic political events, even though one may already be retired, and sometimes to even indirectly partake in politics and solving these issues. I say this because I often meet with MPs from the coalition as well as the opposition, and a lot of balancing of previous years happens in such meetings. That might have been one of the factors that made representatives of the National Council of the Slovak Republic (NR SR) bestow the state award upon me. Personally, I see the award as recognition of my work and the stance I took when the new Slovak statehood was being formed and, primarily, for the active part I played in shaping the new legislation, especially my co-authorship of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic. The award is also rather symbolic for me, seeing as it falls on the 175th anniversary of the establishment of the first Slovak National Council (SNR), which was chaired by Jozef Miloslav Hurban. After the current constitution was implemented, the SNR was renamed to the NR SR, so the symbolism is me being the last chairman of the SNR and the first chairman of the NR SR.
How do you feel about this last decade in comparison to what you had to deal with as head of state?
The times are different. The period when we became a member state of the EU and NATO brought Slovakia a lot of positives, primarily in economic matters, citizens' social status, and foreign policy. The government's policymaking had to focus on preparing and executing various reforms in the economy, social status, and culture, which meant implementing new legislation in all of these areas. Those were matters I dealt with during my first five years as president of Slovakia. The following years weren't easy either, however. The reforms were difficult to implement; the opposition and coalition were very much at odds. The privatization and sale of strategic companies, especially in the Slovak energy industry, caused a major stir. There were allegations of corruption, we had criminal cases being brought (such as the case dubbed "Gorilla" by the police – unsolved to this day), and a major conflict between the government parties and the opposition started. While I was in office, the governments of Mikuláš Dzurinda and Iveta Radičová collapsed. Slovakia is currently going through a major political crisis due to the collapse of its government, which was replaced by two more subsequent governments. The whole situation was in part exacerbated by President Čaputová and her decisions, which she only discussed with politicians from the collapsed ruling coalition. When governments toppled while I was in office, we managed to avoid the crisis that's currently going on in Slovakia by reaching a consensus thanks to quick decision-making and discussing matters among all parliamentary parties.
Do you now understand your two successors who decided to lay down the presidential mantle after their first term? Did you also have similar thoughts during your first years in office?
It's understandable. Mr. Kiska was elected president after being a businessman and the presidential chair was likely not fulfilling for him in that sense, which is why the general consensus in Slovakia was that he would run for prime minister instead. That's why he entered the parliamentary election with his own political party. He failed and went back to being a businessman. Madam President Čaputová ran in the election as a civic association activist and vice-chair of the Progressive Slovakia political party, which was vying for seats in the Parliament but failed to capture any. Unlike President Kiska, her ambitions weren't business-oriented but rather political. Polls showed that she was generally accepted positively, even abroad. But I feel that her failure stems from pushing liberal policies without the necessary discussions and seeking consensus with other political parties. That resulted in the severe polarization of not only politicians but also the general public, an unfortunate involvement in the police crisis, and the mismanagement of setting up an appropriate date for the snap parliamentary election following the vote of no confidence in the government. I feel, and this is purely my opinion, that she lost the trust of her voters, and especially of the political figures who put her forward for the position and supported her. That's why – besides the reasons that Madam President states, such as the fear for her family's well-being – the main reason was the doubt that took hold in the liberal ranks as to whether she could manage another election. Even back then, the new presidential candidate that was being discussed was former Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivan Korčok, who previously refused any and all offers to become chairman of the SaS party for exactly this reason. You're asking whether I thought about not running after my first five years – no. My experience from the first five years in office was predated by experience from my two election terms as chairman of the NR SR and last but not least the position of prosecutor general of the Czechoslovak Federation as well as my tenure as departmental vice president at the Comenius University in Bratislava. My successors clearly lacked this experience. I never lost the majority support of the public when I was in office.
Do you still sometimes meet with Václav Klaus, your Czech presidential counterpart from your time in office? How much do you agree with his harsh criticism of the EU, which goes as far as to call for leaving the Union?
We met several times in Slovakia, we still have a positive relationship. I never refrained from discussing topics on which we held diverging opinions. I am, after all, more of a social democrat. I can say that Václav Klaus was viewed as a politician who knows well how to defend his right-wing stance in various meetings abroad, and I still see him as one of the most successful Czech politicians to this day. And if you're asking about the issue of remaining in the EU, our opinions diverge in me being a Unionist while also being very critical of total globalization and being convinced that the EU needs to implement fundamental reforms in this sense to make it more successful and unified. President Václav Klaus is of the opinion that there is no way to reform the EU. But I repeat – our relationship is excellent and very honest, and our wives have the same kind of relationship.
Ukraine has been facing Russian aggression for two years now. How do you feel about many Slovak voices calling for Slovak neutrality in this conflict? Is it understandable and correct?
It is unacceptable to resort to armed aggression as the solution to any kind of conflict in the 21st century. Ukraine is defending itself because it was attacked, and helping a country such as that is normal. I am glad that the Slovak people and Slovakia came together in unity to support Ukraine, primarily in terms of social aid. Military material support is problematic, it's clear that it extends the war and leads to more deaths. Being opposed to the aggression doesn't necessarily mean that we shouldn't examine the act of invasion and the other party's reasons for it. I feel that Pope Francis made a noteworthy statement in condemning the war, condemning the killing, but saying that we need to examine the causes of Russia's attack. I'm a little surprised by the behavior of the Ukrainian president who is receiving aid from essentially all over the world, aid he accepts willingly but then says it's not enough and that he's fighting for us. I feel that he's losing his sense of objectivity and responsibility towards all of those who are helping him. Instead of being grateful, he likes to complain and thanklessly comment on the aid we provide. While we're on that topic – Poland, which was one of the most active supporters of Ukraine in all areas, is currently reconsidering the aid it will provide, stopping the supply of arms, and reconsidering even other forms of aid to avoid any detriment to its citizens.
The author is a European editor for Deník
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Ivan Gašparovič (born March 27, 1941, in Poltár) is a former president of the Slovak Republic. He also worked as a prosecutor general and chairman of the NR SR.
Between 1959 and 1964, he studied and graduated from the Faculty of Law at Comenius University in Bratislava. After graduating in 1964, he worked at the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Martin and later the Municipal Prosecutor's Office in Bratislava. In 1968, he became a member of the KSČ but was expelled six months later.
Gašparovič started teaching at the Department of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Criminalistics at the CU Faculty of Law in 1968, becoming vice president of the department in 1990.
In mid-1990, he started working as the ČSFR prosecutor general, which is a position he held for two years. In 1992, he joined the HZDS and was elected an MP (and was the chair of the NR SR for 6 years) and stayed one until 2002. He left the HZDS that same year, founded the Movement for Democracy (called Republika today), and returned to the CU FoL as a lecturer.
In 2004, he beat Vladimír Mečiar in the presidential election and became the head of state. He led Slovakia until 2014.
Gašparovič is married. He and his wife Silvia have a daughter, Denisa, and a son, Ivo.
In the White House with POTUS George W. Bush (2008)
During an official visit to the Polish Senate in 2008
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