-Caveat Lector-
> August 11, 1999
>
> Slovakia Becomes Boring
> By Juraj Lisiak
>
> Although not yet officially appointed, New Yorker Carl Spielvogel
> will in all likelihood be the next United States Ambassador to
> the Slovak Republic, replacing his long-reining predecessor,
> Ralph Johnson. Approved by the Senate Foreign Relations
> Committee, Spielvogel sailed through the sometimes laborious
> committee process along with a dozen other Clinton appointees.
>
> Before he can claim his diplomatic passport and have the
> privilege of skipping long lines at customs, his nomination must
> first get rubber stamped by an official Senate vote. Most
> political pundits predict that the issues behind the
> filibustering that has delayed the vote so far will be worked out
> by the end of the summer. However, since ambassadorial
> recommendations come directly from the embattled President,
> political shenanigans could possibly delay congressional approval
> in the Republican-controlled Senate.
>
> Spielvogel hopes not. He and his wife, Barbara Lee
> Diamondstein-Spielvogel, have dished out over two hundred
> thousand dollars to the President as well as the Democratic Party
> and, understandably, want to see some return on their hefty
> investment. Spielvogel was appointed to the Broadcasting Board of
> Governors (a Senate-appointed panel dealing with broadcasting)
> and did have the pleasure of sleeping in the Lincoln Bedroom at
> the White House, but for that kind of money, one expects a better
> deal.
>
> Being addressed as "Ambassador Spielvogel" should about do it. Of
> course, money's not really an issue for a man who runs one of the
> largest car dealership franchises in the U.S., the United Auto
> Group. A graduate of Baruch College in New York, Spielvogel is
> considered one of the leading business executives in the country.
>
> He and his wife are also part of the New York cultural circuit,
> having hosted their share of glitterati and served enough lobster
> bisque and shrimp cocktail to be certified as fishmongers. Maybe
> when he is not attending the board meetings and executive
> luncheons of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Lincoln Centre
> for the Performing Arts, the Philharmonic Symphony Society of New
> York, Mt Sinai Hospital or Eureka Communities charity, he will
> have time to stop over in Bratislava.
>
> It is also very doubtful that Spielvogel will learn the Slovak
> language any time soon, and his stay in Slovakia will most
> probably be counted in weeks rather than months.
>
> Johnson, who previously served as Coordinator for Assistance to
> Eastern Europe and who ascended through the ranks of the Foreign
> Service, is very unlike his successor. Primarily because of his
> experience and ability, Johnson was sent to co-ordinate the clean
> up in Slovakia, that is, get rid of Meciar. Now that he has
> succeeded he has been shipped off to another European backwater,
> the Balkans.
>
> Highly involved, an astute troubleshooter and, most importantly,
> very discreet, Johnson was cognizant of both Slovak culture and
> language. He was a professional by both training and experience
> and he advanced U.S. interests in Slovakia with finesse.
>
> Spielvogel will not be able to live up to his predecessor
> precisely because he is in a completely different category. Lower
> level diplomatic personnel will carry out most of the substantive
> work, and Spielvogel's main task will be to read the cue cards
> and maybe even to pronounce a couple words in Slovak. Surely, he
> will manage that without fumbling.
>
> Reportedly having refused an ambassadorship to a Baltic country
> not too long ago, Spielvogel looks settled on the fact that this
> is the most political mileage he will be getting for his
> financial support of the President. Heading a diplomatic mission
> to a relatively civilized European country continues to be one of
> the trinkets of splurging some of your wealth in the political
> arena. Of course, such appointments are not always without
> controversy as James Hormel, the openly homosexual Ambassador to
> Luxembourg, found out.
>
> Yet the symbolism of this appointment shouldn't be
> underestimated. The richest, most powerful country in the world
> no longer considers Slovakia a problematic nation in need of a
> diplomatic babysitter but regards it merely as another chip to be
> handed out to supporting political factions. While all diplomatic
> appointments are political to a certain degree, there is a sharp
> distinction between appointing a diplomatically experienced
> ambassador, such as Johnson, and sending a mere figurehead
> ambassador with no formal training, such as Spielvogel.
>
> Slovakia has graduated from the ranks of Belarus, Croatia and
> Romania, where professional appointments are still necessary, to
> a higher level: a relatively stable nation where the US
> ambassador doesn't have to worry about getting stuck in
> internationally sensitive situations.
>
> Reprinted with permission from Central Europe Review
>
>
>
> SEARCH
>
>
>
> © 1999 European Internet Network Inc. All rights reserved.
>From CentralEurope.CoM
A<>E<>R
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