Havel strikes conciliatory tone in last New Year's speech
President Vaclav Havel made his last ever New Year's speech on Tuesday, exactly one month before he steps down after 13 years in the post. Looking relaxed and in good health, the 66-year-old president urged his fellow citizens to defend the democracy that he helped bring about following the collapse of communism in 1989.
"Our work is not over. We must remind ourselves over and over that democracy is not just a certain institutional structure, but also a spirit, a human capacity, a purpose and an ideal."
Mr Havel was speaking on the ten anniversary of the division of Czechoslovakia, and told Czechs he still believed a referendum should have been held on the split. Unlike past New Year's speeches, however, he had few words of criticism for his fellow countrymen. He mentioned lingering white-collar corruption and racial intolerance, and called for a stronger justice system. But there was no criticism of political opponents, or warnings of creeping moral decay.
President Havel leaves office in exactly one month's time, but he gave no hints as to which of the six candidates he would like to see as his successor. He said the new president should be "wise, open-minded and responsible," but went no further. Political analyst Jiri Pehe has served as an adviser to Mr Havel over the last decade - he says the president was right not to mention names.
"He knows that naming any candidate could in fact harm that person, because the pettiness of our political parties is such that - I think at least - they would make sure the person promoted by Havel was not elected. Havel knows this, and he knows that the best way to help the presidential election is to stay away from it. It would not be very fortunate if he inserted himself into the process."
So a conciliatory and carefully worded speech, emphasising the positive aspects of 2002. Mr Havel praised the heroes of August's catastrophic floods, who had risked life and limb to save others. He mentioned last month's invitation to join the European Union in 2004, and Prague's successful hosting of the NATO summit. All this, said President Havel, had contributed to greater international recognition for the Czech Republic. "Today," he said, "we are a trustworthy and respected European democracy."
