In 1990 no one suspected that within two years the Czechoslovak state, whose traditions date back to the beginning of the 20th century, would disappear from the map of Europe, making way for the Czech Republic and Slovakia. What was it about? About the ambitions of two politicians and ... a dash in the name.
The Czechs and Slovaks enthusiastically overthrew communism, and the parties of former dissidents won the first free elections to the joint parliament (Federal Assembly).
Initially, no one thought about national problems - there were more important problems to be solved than the not entirely fairly structured relations between the Czechs and Slovaks. This topic unexpectedly came to the fore on March 30, 1990.
A dash of discord…
It was then that the debate over the new name of the country began in parliament. Surprisingly, the representatives of the two nations were unable to come to an agreement on this completely fundamental issue. The Slovaks were in favor of the Czecho-Slovak Federative Republic. The dash was to emphasize the equality of both republics and nations. The Czechs did not like such an innovation, as it was fanciful and contradicting tradition. They have always lived in Czechoslovakia and they wanted it to stay that way!
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia? (fig. PANONIAN, public domain).
Effect? Czechoslovakia is perhaps the only new state in history with two official names. From then on, for the Czechs, it was the Czechoslovak Federal Republic. For Slovaks:Czecho-Slovak Federal Republic. This absurd solution only lasted a few months, but it was enough for the storm to break out for good.
… and ambitions
First of all, in both republics the dominant position was gained by extremely ambitious politicians who did not want to share power with anyone. On the Slovak side it was Vladimír Mečiar, referring to the nationalist rhetoric. In the Czech Republic, Václav Klaus showed similar ambitions.
They were both splitters - they burst their parties from the inside in order to win more votes in the next elections using radical slogans. They both believed that they would most easily achieve this goal by referring to the topic of the Czech-Slovak conflict. In Slovakia, there were indeed voices that the Czechs were deliberately pushing Slovaks to the margins in politics and the economy. In turn, many Czechs were fed up with "subsidizing" their poorer neighbors from the east.
Mečiar and Klaus at the Tugendhat Villa.
As Lech Kościelak writes in his book Historia Słowacji, the next elections to the joint parliament - June 5/6 1992 - were won by parties that did not show determination to defend Czecho-Slovakia or were even uninterested in keeping it. The Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) headed by Vladimír Mečiar was victorious in Slovakia. In the Czech Republic - Václav Klaus' Civic Democratic Party (ODS).
Both Mečiar and Klaus wanted to rule, and this was not possible in a single state. So far, Klaus and Mečiar became prime ministers of the republics of Czechoslovakia and started ... short, non-public negotiations.
The talks took place somewhat on a neutral ground - writes Lech Kościelniak - because in the famous modernist villa Tugendhat in Brno, Moravia. After several rounds of talks, V. Me è iar and V. Klaus decided on the details of the division of the common organism and the creation of two nation states .
Mečiar and Klaus officially seal the division of Czechoslovakia.
And nobody asked people for their opinion
At midnight from December 31, 1992 to January 1, 1993, Czechoslovakia ceased to exist and its property was divided between the Czech Republic and Slovakia in a 2:1 ratio. Despite the exhortations of the President of Czechoslovakia, Václav Havel, the two prime ministers did not agree to hold a referendum on the partition of the state. Anyway, Havel lost his position in July 1992 due to the opposition of the Slovaks to his candidacy. No new common president has been elected yet.
And why did Klaus and Mečiar oppose the referendum on such an important issue? Because in a free vote, the idea of dividing the country would fall short . As Andrzej Chwalba rightly notices in his book "Historia universal 1989-2011":
(...) relations between the two nations were good, even very good, in the following years. The Czech Skoda sold equally well in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia. (...) Czechs willingly studied in Bratislava, and Slovaks even more willingly in Prague (...). In the popularity rankings of nations (...), the Czechs won in Slovakia, and the Slovaks in the Czech Republic.
Václav Havel failed to convince both prime ministers to vote for a referendum.
Today, according to polls only 1/3 of Czechs and Slovaks are satisfied with the break-up of Czechoslovakia . Also in 1992, a clear but nevertheless minority supported the independence of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Well, the politicians did not ask people for their opinion. And they both did well:Mečiar ruled Slovakia for four years. Klaus, on the other hand, was the prime minister of the Czech Republic for five years, presidents of parliament for four, and since 2003 he has been the president of the republic.