By CTK News Agency

BRATISLAVA, June 4 (ÇTK) - Although Slovak Health Minister

Viliam Sobońa has not indicated his inevitable departure from

the government, "he is turning the same somersaults with which

he started his career in the ministry", writes the trade union

daily +Práca+. It recalls the purges at the ministry and, later

on, in the whole sector of health care, initiated by Sobońa

since the very beginning of his tenure.

"He has antagonised gradually every citizen who needed

anything from the health care," stresses the commentator. He

states that Sobońa is not supported even by the professional

organisations, associations and the Slovak Medical Chamber.

Recently he broke also with Premier Meçiar and Deputy Premier

Roman Kováç when he started, without having told them, to

dismiss again the directors of health facilities, writes

+Práca+. It stresses the reactions of Kováç who "is not willing

to bear responsibility for Sobońa's moves" and of Meçiar who

ordered him to submit to the government by June 8 a report on

the causes of dismissals in his ministry. Whatever tactics

Sobońa may choose, his departure from the Slovak government is

inevitable, concludes +Práca+.

It would be naive to pretend that the current second visit

by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to Slovakia

will result in "softer" recommendations than those made in

February, writes the independent daily +Národná obroda+. The

current visit by an IMF mission is a vivid example of how much

the illusions are "genetically coded" in Slovakia's inhabitants

which is manifest especially in the declarations of some

representatives of parties and movements.

Slovakia's position is now sligthly better than during the

first visit of the mission when devaluation and a tough

restriction were unequivocal conditions of the IMF for granting

loans to Slovakia, states +Národná obroda+. "The prescriptions

by the IMF will obviously be a bit different. But do not let us

cherish illusions, they will not be softer, as someone would

like to imagine. They will only be more realistic," adds the

author.

The director of state budget at the Slovak Ministry of

Finance, Marie ˘uranová, says it is possible that the IMF

mission will draw the same conclucions as in February when it

demanded, among other things, cuts in expenditures from the

state budget. Should this happen, the state would have to change

the legislative substantially, stresses ˘uranová in an interview

with the daily +Smena+, which is close to the ruling Movement

for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS). She points out that the IMF

mission can just prepare proposals and it does not determine how

much the individual spheres receive from the state budget. It is

up to the government to decide which proposals will be accepted,

says ˘uranová.

The creation of a government coalition composed of the HZDS

and the Democratic Left Party (SDč) is rejected by SDč Deputy

Chairman Pavol Kanis in an interview with the trade union daily

+Práca+. Meçiar's statements that the SDč's entry into the

government coalition depends on the revision of its programme

give evidence of Meçiar's coalition concept which "is based on

the dictate of the partner," said Kanis.

It is obvious from Meçiar's statements made after return

from his May visit to the USA that Slovakia "is at the

crossroads and the ruling movement is holding the key to the

solution to this situation", chairman of the Slovak National

Party (SNS) čudovít Çernák said in an interview with +Práca+.

Meçiar should stop offering co-operation to other political

parties through media and he should sit down with them at a

common table, says Çernák. He says that his party is willing to

enter again a two-party coalition with the HZDS which existed

until Çernák's departure from the government in March. Çernák

also stresses that his party will not change its programme

according to Meçiar's ideas.

The independent +Národná obroda+ lables as little wonder the

result of Wednesday's talks of the opposition parliamentary

parties in Bratislava who agreed to support the candidate of SDč

for the chairman of Slovak Supreme Inspection Office and the

candidates of SNS and Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) for

the deputy chairmen of this office. It seems that the

parliamentary opposition understood at last that it was not

possible to talk individually with Meçiar and the HZDS, states

the daily.

It points out that it is now the HZDS' turn, and that deeds,

not words are expected from its representatives. "Now, when a

virtual collapse of the Slovak economy and its fall to the

bottom are threatening, members of the government and the

movement have started discussing with citizens," the daily

comments on the current activity of the HZDS. If the HZDS

ignores again the ambitions of the opposition in the talks about

the Supreme Inspection Office, it may lead to an unambiguous

effort of the opposition to bring about early elections. "After

them Slovakia's political scene may look the way hardly anyone

can imagine today. That means a government without Meçiar and

without the HZDS as well," adds the commentator.

pv/dr/ms