Slovakia - policy

Labour

The Slovak labour force numbers some 2,484,900. Most employees are members of trade unions, trade union freedom being written into the 1992 constitution. Unemployment remains a significant economic problem.

Government

Slovakia is a constitutional republic, governed under a constitution adopted in September 1, 1992, as part of the process of partition of the former Czechoslovakia. This draws on the preceding Czechoslovak political reforms enacted following the collapse of Communism.

Executive

The head of state of Slovakia is the president, who must receive three-fifths of the votes in the Slovak parliament in order to be elected on the first ballot. The president serves a five-year term for a maximum of two consecutive terms. The president appoints the prime minister, who heads the executive government and with the president appoints the cabinet.

Legislature

The parliament is a unicameral body called the National Council, and consists of 150 deputies who are directly elected by popular vote under a proportional representation franchise. The council derives from the Slovak federal legislature of the former Czechoslovakia. Deputies serve for a four-year term.

Judiciary

The judicial system includes a Constitutional Court and four types of court: civil, criminal, commercial, and administrative (dealing with private claims against state bodies). There are regional and district courts. Judicial decisions are normally reached at the regional level by a panel of five judges. The ten judges of the Constitutional Court are nominated by the president for seven-year terms.

Local Government

Local administration is the preserve of district bureaux, which are popularly elected. These have power to levy local taxes and run local services.

Political Parties

Major political parties in Slovakia include the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, the Party of the Democratic Left (successor to the Communist Party of Slovakia), the Christian Democratic Movement, and the Slovak National Party. However, party alliances can shift rapidly, and a coalition government is usually formed. There are numerous small parties, some representing Hungarian and other minorities, others representing farmers or other special-interest groups.

Health and Welfare

Average life expectancy at birth in Slovakia in the mid-1990s was 69 years for men and 77 years for women. In the early 1990s there were some 18,556 doctors and 41,926 hospital beds.

Free national health care is provided by a state insurance system. However, coverage in remoter rural areas is notably poorer.

Defence

Slovak armed forces, which were divided from Czech forces during the breakup, number about 47,000 personnel, including an army of 33,000 and an air force of 14,000. There is a compulsory period of 18 months of military service for males of 18 years and older; women can enlist voluntarily.