RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 2, No. 107, 5 June 1998

SLOVAK OPPOSITION CONVENES ROUNDTABLE TALKS. The leaders of
the main opposition parties on 4 June agreed that if they
succeed in ousting incumbent Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar
from power in September, they will change the constitutional
provision on presidential elections to elect the head of
state by popular vote, Reuters reported. The leaders of the
Slovak Democratic Coalition (SDK), the Hungarian Coalition,
the Party of the Democratic Left, and the Party of Civic
Understanding said after roundtable talks in Bratislava that
they will not form any pre-electoral coalition and will
compete independently in the elections. But SDK leader
Mikulas Dzurinda said the roundtable was a "signal that the
parties are close to each other on the main questions
concerning the [country's] post-electoral direction." MS

HUNGARY'S SMALLHOLDERS THREATEN TO STAY OUT OF COALITION.
Independent Smallholders' Party (FKGP) Chairman Jozsef
Torgyan told Hungarian media on 4 June that his party will
remain in opposition unless a "super-ministry" for
developing the provinces is established and controlled by
the FKGP. Torgyan's threat follows Federation of Young
Democrats-Hungarian Civic Party (FIDESZ-MPP) leader Viktor
Orban's statement the previous day that the countryside is
not the "fiefdom" of any party (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4
June 1998). Both Torgyan and FIDESZ-MPP Deputy Chairman
Janos Ader confirmed that coalition talks between the two
parties will not start until next week. In other news, after
meeting with representatives of all parties that won
parliamentary seats, President Arpad Goncz announced the
inaugural session of the parliament will begin on 18 June.
MSZ

ETHNIC HUNGARIANS THREATEN TO LEAVE ROMANIAN COALITION. Bela
Marko, chairman of the Hungarian Democratic Federation of
Romania (UDMR), said on 4 June his formation will leave the
ruling coalition if the parliament fails to approve during
the current session demands that the UDMR had earlier agreed
on with its partners. He pointed to amendments to the laws
on education and local administration, as well as the
setting up of a Hungarian-language university, RFE/RL's
Bucharest bureau reported. Marko also criticized the slow
pace of reform and the absence of a permanent coordination
body where coalition party leaders could discuss
differences. The UDMR chairman said his formation "is not
engaging in blackmail but in a realistic assessment of the
tasks ahead." MS

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