Martin M. Šimečka
Born in Bratislava in 1957, Martin M. Šimečka is a renowned writer and journalist who has made a career in both Slovak and Czech publications. Initially a contributor to samizdat reviews until the Velvet Revolution of 1989, he became editor in chief of Slovakian daily SME in 1997. During his nine year editoriship, SME, highly critical of the new Slovakian state, became a national reference. Former editor in chief of Respekt, he continues to publish op-ed pieces and features focused on Slovakia.
Updated: 4 June 2009
Twenty years ago, Czechoslovakia split in two new countries. If the Czech Republic and Slovakia had stayed together and transformed the impoverished former nation into a multi-ethnic country, both societies would be more democratic today, argues a dual-nationality columnist. 
Almost a year after the so-called “Gorilla” file lifted the lid on corruption in Slovakia, a new documentary reveals a Slovak judiciary controlled by a clique of unscrupulous judges ready to thwart those who resist them. Its director, Zuzana Piussi now faces up to two years in prison. 
On 17 July 1992, the Slovak parliament proclaimed the sovereignty of the Slovak republic, paving the way for the split-up of Czechoslovakia. Twenty years on, the Slovaks have overcome their demons and adapted to Europe. For the Czechs, an examination of the national conscience has yet to be done. 
The snap general election was supposed about Europe and Slovakia’s place in it. But a series of revelations about high-level political corruption now threatens the entire system. 
Explosive and mysterious, a file named “Gorilla” contains evidence of corruption in Slovakia’s political and economic elite. Two months away from early parliamentary elections, who stands to benefit from the revelations? 
Leading a country heavily in debt, under pressure from the IMF and threatened with prosecution by the EU, the Hungarian Prime Minister is now facing an organised opposition. Feeling poorer every day, Hungarians have lost their faith in the PM's nationalist prescriptions. 
In seeking to tackle corruption by means of illegal wiretaps, the disgraced former defense minister violated the very democratic principles he wanted to defend. And his case has further undermined Slovaks' confidence in politicians as well the press. 
The trial of the former premier resumes Sept. 27, three days after the visit of President Yanukovych to Russia. It’s a game of high strategy between Kiev and Moscow, in which Europe has a role to play too. 
With its rapidly changing capital, its new motorways and EU subsidised farmers, Poland is creating a new identity for itself, less pro-American and more and more europhile. A report. 
The government of Viktor Orbán (Fidesz) has succeeded in consolidating its power, including control over the media, and is preparing to amend the Constitution. Is the sudden set-back to democracy in Hungary just a hiccup, or is it a systemic phenomenon that could spread to other central European states? Respekt reports from Budapest. 
Like other countries in Central Europe, Slovakia is battling to overcome the scourge of endemic corruption. The government in Bratislava has decided to attack the problem by publishing documents relating to public calls for tender on the internet. 
Founder of Hungarian-Slovak reconciliation party Most-HÍD, the Magyar politician leads the drive to improve the troubled relations between the Slovak majority and the country's ethic-Hungarian minority. His success in recent elections is a positive sign for stability in Central Europe. 
On 12 June, Slovaks will go to the polls to elect the next government in Bratislava. But in a country with deep-rooted local traditions, the population is largely indifferent to national and European politics. Respekt reports from the Low Tatra mountains. 
The first woman to have penetrated the higher echelons of Central European government, Iveta Radičová's style and political positions have created a new phenomenon in the virile world of Slovak public affairs. According to the weekly Respekt, on 12 June, she may well become the country's next prime minister under the banner of the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ). 
In the countries of the former Soviet Bloc, information from communist era secret police archives continues to spark controversy. Should public figures be investigated? Or is it time to forget? Different attitudes in individual countries were determined during the transition to democracy. 
Disquieting tensions between Slovakia and Hungary are not likely to be dispelled any time soon. Adrift in the polls, sovereigntist groups like Ján Slota’s Slovak National Party and the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia led by Vladimír Mečiar are counting on Hungarian populists and a dispute about Slovakia’s Hungarian minority to make up lost ground.