Is Social democratic program catastrofic?

The programmatic manifesto of the Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD), released last week, has been harshly criticized by liberal parties and economists as unrealistic and as possibly harmful to the the Czech Republic's prospects for overcoming its current economic and political problems. In reality, the document is not bad; namely, it outlines a number of policies that could be beneficial for the country.

The document's most striking feature is the fact that it puts much more emphasis on legal reforms than on economic ones. This represents a significant change of balance in comparison with the previous right-of-center governments, all of which heavily focused on economic measures. A lack of focus on the rule of law, the transparency of capital markets, and dealing with corruption all contributed to the country's current problems.

The CSSD government's manifesto puts emphasis on improving the legal system even in those parts that are devoted to the economy. In many ways, it seems to be a correct policy. After all, the economic reforms, such as privatization, are mostly finished, although some sectors of the economy still need to be privatized. The market economy created by the Klaus governments has been lacking clear rules and transparency. The CSSD may be right in assuming that the safest way to economic recovery may be "civilizing the institutional jungle" created by the Klaus governments.

The document is also impressive in several other areas. It puts much emphasis on education, on creating, what it calls "a knowledge society." It also repeatedly stresses that the Czech Republic's efforts to harmonize its laws with those of the European Union need to accelerate. In general, the CSSD government seems to be much more aware than previous governments of a certain deficit that the Czech Republic has in coping with EU requirements.

There are also several daring concrete proposals in the document, such as plans to submit laws that would make it easier for Czechs to hold dual citizenship. Those Czech =E9migr=E9s who now hold citizenship of oth= er countries could regain their Czech citizenship. That would represent a significant shift from the policies of the Klaus governments, which were rather hostile toward Czech =E9migr=E9s. Such policies were counterproductive. Hundreds of thousands of people left the country since 1948, many of them members of the Czech intelligentsia. While Poland and Hungary have embraced their exiles, using their Western experience and skills, the Czech Republic, with exceptions, has totally missed out on this opportunity.

Another important area, which was neglected by the Klaus governments, and in which the CSSD government is planning to move things forward, is the reform of the public administration system. Not only does the government intend to go ahead with the decentralization of the country into regions but it also plans to depoliticize the country's civil service system.

Some measures proposed by the government may not be beneficial. In general, the CSSD seems to be too eager to intervene in the economy. Its plans to salvage some large companies that are now virtually bankrupt may be counterproductive. Its plans to increase social security payments

by companies may also be counterproductive. Plans to create several new state institutions that would channel money into the country's infrastructure are also dubious.

On the other hand, those projects that require large sums of money are likely to be quickly abandoned owing to budgetary constraints. Therefore, most of those policies that are harshly criticized by liberals are not likely to be carried out. The legal reforms and other measures aimed at strengthening the rule of law, on the other hand, may succeed. Should that happen, this in itself would be a positive legacy of the CSSD government.

Reuters - 11. 8. 1998