New Year’s Address of the President of the Slovak Republic Ivan Gašparovič, 1. 1. 2005

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My Dear Fellow Citizens,

While I was composing this New Year’s address, my thoughts returned to my childhood and my younger years. The words of a song came to mind: “Radujme sa, veseľme sa, nový rok nám nastal...!” (Let us be joyful, let us be merry, the New Year is here!). Children, adults, the young and the old rejoiced. The sick in the hope that they would recover and the poor in the hope that their living conditions would improve. Traditional greetings and songs were rich in geniality and benevolence. They included wishes of happiness, health, peace, love and prosperity, family satisfaction, solidarity in the village and God’s blessing.

And now I ask myself whether it would not be enough for the President to say such words or similarly sincere words. It was in this spirit that I appeared before you when I took the President’ oath. It was not possible for me to do this other than with deep feelings at the moment when I took upon myself the responsibility of becoming the head of state of the Slovak Republic. The head of state of a society in which everyone yearns for happiness and health. These should not be empty phrases, but as the Bible says let “words become deeds!”. Namely, by the honest work of the individual in return for a fair wage. And this, citizens, is your message to us, the representatives of the state, that we should create good living conditions for work and a peaceful life for all our fellow citizens.

And now is a particularly appropriate time to consider what we have done for our society and, above all, what must be done in the future and how it should be done. This task and responsibility is all the more pertinent, as for a number of years we have been living in an independent Slovak Republic. We are also part of the North Atlantic Alliance and of the European Union.

Since these events took place shortly before my election, I have had the opportunity, on the behalf of all of us, as the head of state, to participate in meetings of the representatives of NATO countries in Istanbul and at the headquarters of the most important European institutions in Brussels and at the UN. I would like to tell you that I had reason to be proud. The Slovak Republic is, today, perceived as a reliable partner and, indeed, we cannot complain of a lack of interest in us. We have attracted attention thanks to our work. Slovakia has been talked of as never before, with respect as an attractive country with potential. I should like to assure you that I will continue to do everything within my power, as far as foreign policy is concerned, to increase the international prestige and trustworthiness of Slovakia, as it is certain that the credibility of our country abroad will gradually be reflected in our everyday lives.

Dear Fellow Citizens!

We live in a state which on this day celebrates the twelfth anniversary of its establishment and, therefore, 1st January is not only the beginning of the new year for us, but also a national holiday. And so I would like to say a few words regarding this occasion.

It is one of the most significant dates in our history and represented the definitive acceptance of responsibility for our development. I believe that we are succeeding and that if, above all, we seek mutual understanding, our further development will without doubt also be successful.

We Slovaks live in our homeland together with national minorities. This fact of itself predetermines us to a spiritual richness and to cultural coexistence. Let us not squander these riches!
That we are able to unite over important matters was demonstrated by November’s calamity in the High Tatras. I visited the scene of the destructive gales and was able to see for myself the damage the windstorm caused. The view of the devastated Tatras will remain in my memory as one of the saddest which I have ever seen. However, I was moved and my pain was assuaged by the number of people who immediately wanted to help.

Among these people were the unemployed and many pensioners offered money that they had saved with difficulty, indeed many people were willing to come in person. I would like, therefore, to thank all fellow citizens who care about one of the symbols of our country and who demonstrated by concrete assistance that they truly love their homeland. This situation also demonstrated that Slovakia has many friends abroad. We were assisted by Czechs, by Poles and by citizens of other countries and the European Union also provided help.
It is good to know that we are not alone and that in difficult times we have someone to depend on and turn to.

Dear Fellow Citizens,

I am very glad to be able to address you today and that you were willing to listen to my words.
I would like to assure you that I will always bear in mind your situation and that I will continue to assess all my decisions in the forthcoming year, above all, with respect to you and I will endeavour to put myself in your situation. I am interested to know how you live, what your problems are and how I can help you with them as our internal development has not always been unambiguously positive. You will certainly forgive me if, on this day of celebration, I do not burden you with statistics and facts, by way of praise or criticism of our progress. There will be other opportunities for this.
It has been evident for a number of years that great regional differences continue to exist and that a great number of our families have financial and social problems and, indeed, sometimes problems just to get by. The situation for pensioners and young families is difficult. This is witnessed to by the hundreds of sometimes desperate letters which I have received from you. Believe me, they are not easy to read, particularly if I do not know how I can assist people living in poverty.

We have chosen the path of reform. I have no doubts that this was necessary. We must, however, be aware that the Slovak Republic has set out towards an unexplored, unknown land. Every single step could be dangerous and, therefore, it is necessary to think carefully. After all, a number of approaches always exists, it is only necessary to look for them.
This situation, in which a number of important reforms have been launched at the same time, is a first for Slovakia and rightly creates a feeling of mistrust and uncertainty among citizens regarding the future.
I know, however, that there are also many people like this who wish to work, but there are not enough job opportunities in their town or village. These people are also deserving of our understanding and assistance as their situation is a difficult one. It is my heartfelt wish that during this year the greatest possible number of jobs are created in Slovakia, particularly in those regions where they are really needed, so that these people can enjoy a decent living standard and live in dignity. I would like to assure you that as President, I will always take an interest in these people and I will use my constitutional and legal powers and moral initiatives in order that their situation does not worsen, but rather that a solution is found.

I would like, therefore, to call upon the authors of the reforms to look harder and analyse deeper during this year in the search for alternatives. Let us always choose the less painful. Let us give our citizens more explanations and justifications and not burden them needlessly financially, physically and psychically, nor waste their time.

I am particularly concerned by the growth in criminality and not just with respect to the number of criminal acts. Their brutality is shocking. The age of young people who do not hesitate to commit exceptionally serious criminal acts against health, freedom and life is falling. This, in itself, tells us that our society faces serious problems regarding how are children are brought up, in schools, in finding work for our young people, and above all in the social area. Prevention must be the priority. Let us make the bringing up and education of our children and young people in our schools a priority, let us encourage them to take part in sport, let us return to neglected national pride and patriotism. I do not wish to affirm that our young people are bad. The majority of young people want to educate themselves and get on in life. It is, therefore, the state’s responsibility to give them an opportunity to develop their capabilities and talents, to ensure they get an equal chance without regard to which social strata and from which region they are from. They are our future and an investment in their education will certainly benefit us in the future.

Dear Fellow Citizens,

I would like to take advantage of this opportunity to address you in your homes to thank you for your work. I should like to express my respect and recognition in this way to those who earn their daily bread in the fields, to those who work in the factories, to those who serve all the members of the public in whatsoever way, to those who save lives and to those who return people to health, to those who teach with love our children and young people, to those who make the difficult work of others easier by research and through science and contribute to the wealth of world science, and culture and improve the quality our lives.

I would like to thank the members of our army for their work at home and abroad. On behalf of all of us, I would like to thank those whose profession is to protect our civil freedoms and rights and those who are engaged in the fight against criminality of every type and protect the safety of citizens and of the state.

I also extend my gratitude and greetings to our compatriots living abroad, who feel with us and are following our development and our difficulties. Here, I also include all the friends of Slovakia.
Let God grant that we preserve our moral respect to our historic values, to the individual, his freedoms, rights and needs.

I wish you every happiness in the course of your everyday life, in a well-ordered Slovak homeland, in determination to do good, in the certainty and in the hope of a better future.

Happy New Year 2005!

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