The velvet divorce.

Many former Czechoslovakians now think they might have made a mistake. In a recent public opinion poll, 57% of Slovakians said they would not have voted in favor of splitting from the Czech Republic in 1992. But, they didn't get a chance to vote. The separation of the Czech Republic and Slovakia was handled entirely by politicians.

There have been centuries of low-grade friction between Czechs and Slovaks. Czechs out-numbered Slovaks two-to-one. The same imbalance was apparent economically; Czechs had always been better off than Slovaks. Generally, Czechs considered the Slovaks to be country bumpkins.

Under the communists the Czech and Slovak republics were given equal power in the federation. The communists had also invested heavily in massive industrial expansion in Slovakia. The Czechs resented what they saw as favouritism toward the Slovaks. The concessions didn't seem to end Slovak grievances about being dominated by the Czechs.

Then, in the summer of 1992, two strong and uncompromising leaders emerged from Czechoslovakia's election. Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus promised a rapid change to a market economy. Slovak Premier Vladimir Meciar preached a slower transition to free enterprise. He wanted to protect the thousands of jobs in Slovakia's out-of-date factories that were threatened by Mr. Klaus' sink-or-swim economic plans. Mr. Meciar also promised to realize Slovakia's dreams of nationhood.

The first battle came over a hyphen. A routine bill came up in parliament to drop the word "Socialist" from the country's official name. Slovak deputies also wanted to change the country's name to Czecho-Slovakia; Czech deputies would have none of it. Jan Carnogursky, leader of the Christian Democratic Party, says the dispute stirred up a lot of old difficulties: Problems that had lain just below the surface for 70 years exploded. The arguments about our country's name were unexpected and revealed wounds that in both nations the people had not realized were there."

For months, the two sides struggled to write a new constitution that would accommodate the needs of both. Former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau was asked for his advice. A sort of sovereignty-association was proposed and shot down. Other ideas failed to win approval. Eventually, Czech Prime Minister Klaus dug his heels in and offered Slovakia a deal - independence, take it or leave it. Slovak Premier Meciar, equally stubborn, decided to take it. And so, it was done.

But there was little enthusiasm among the people. Throughout the negotiations over the split public opinion polls showed support for separation among the people was lukewarm at best. At the same time, there was massive support for a national referendum on the issue, something both leaders ignored. Mr. Meciar had campaigned in the June 1992 election on a sovereignty platform. But, while Slovaks voted for him, most said they didn't want to separate.

On 1 January 1993, the Czech Republic and Slovakia went their separate ways. They agreed to split the country's assets with two thirds going to the Czechs and one third to the Slovaks. They split the debt and the military in the same way.

There have been few tears shed in the Czech Republic over the separation. Most believe that Slovakia was a drag on their economic hopes. For half a million people the split was personally wrenching. These were Slovaks living in Czech lands and vice versa. They had to make a choice of nationality. Other minorities also felt threatened. Hungarians living in Slovakia had to watch as police tore down Hungarian place names. In both new states there have been reports of persecution against Gypsies.

A year after the divorce, the Czech Republic was riding high. It had privatized much of its economy, and Germany's Deutsche Bank declared it "has the best development potential of all countries of central and Eastern Europe." Unemployment is a mere 3.5% and there's a shortage of labour in Prague. In 1993, trade with a Western Europe in recession rose by 16%.

It's not so rosy across the border in Slovakia. Unemployment is 15.1%, inflation is 22% and expected to rise, and in 1993 the economy shrank by 3.5%. Virtually all of the old, bloated communist-era industries remain untouched.

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES:

1. What parallels, if any, are there between the break-up of Czechoslovakia and the push for sovereignty in Quebec?

2. Paul Koring of the Globe & Mail has written that Czechoslovakia fell apart because there was insufficient interest in keeping it together." Discuss.