Shifting Symbols

During Czechoslovakia's "springtime of freedom," First Party Secretary Alexander Dubcek was the symbol of the country's new liberal spirit. Now, in the winter of its agony, Dubcek has increasingly become the symbol of compromise and collaboration. Bending to the will of his Soviet overlords, how ever reluctantly, Dubcek has moved into the forefront of those who are shaping the country's return to stern Communist orthodoxy.

Last week the Communist Party Presidium issued a warning to the Czechoslovak people admonishing them to refrain from all forms of dissent against the regime or the Soviet occupiers. Otherwise, as Dubcek declared, "The party will impose inevitable measures. They might seem undemocratic, but they will ensure that this republic is not driven by anarchistic tendencies." Not surprisingly, Dubcek's popularity has declined sharply in Czechoslovakia. In fact, only 41 months after their tanks crashed into Czechoslovakia, the Soviets have, in effect, succeeded in destroying not only the liberal reforms but the reformer as well.

Measure of Autonomy. Since he is largely doing their bidding, the Soviets do not at present want to discredit Dubcek entirely. Ironically, they allowed him last week to put into effect one of his original reforms. It has nothing to do with his innovations in press and political freedom, which have been quashed. The new measure establishes a federal system of government in Czechoslovakia, granting a large degree of autonomy to the country's two main ethnic groups, the Czechs and the Slovaks.

Dubcek, a Slovak, presented the scheme a year ago when he ousted from power President and Party Boss Antonin Novotny, a Czech. Historically, the more bucolic Slovaks have felt oppressed by the urbanized and sophisticated Czechs, who outnumber them by nearly 3 to 1. Hoping to enhance his support at home, Dubcek proposed self-rule as a means of alleviating the old Slovak grievances. At first, the Soviets, who earlier had threatened to break off Slovakia and incorporate it into the Soviet Union, opposed the federal system. They changed their minds when they realized that the reorganization would provide an opportunity to plant in the new posts men who are more likely to do their bidding than the officials in the former government.

Under the new setup, the Czech and Slovak halves of the country will each have their own governments to run the affairs of the provinces. The activities of the regional governments will be coordinated by a federal government in Prague that will be administered by a Premier, four Deputy Premiers and a seven-man Cabinet. In addition, there will be a bicameral federal legislature composed of a lower Chamber of People and a Senate-style Chamber of Nations; the delegates of both houses will be drawn from the regional assemblies.

Preference for Realists. The initial Czechoslovak reaction to federalization was favorable. In a spontaneous outburst of regional pride, Czechs paraded through the snowy streets of Prague, waving the red and white flag of their native province of Bohemia. Simultaneously, Slovak patriots hoisted the white-blue-red banner of Slovakia over the battlements of the hilltop castle that frowns down on Bratislava, the old provincial capital of Slovakia.

Behind the scenes, the Soviets were doing some hoisting of their own, as they elevated their men to power. They are prudently not promoting for the new posts outright Stalinists from the Novotny regime; instead, they prefer respectable, obedient bureaucrats. In Prague's current political argot, these men are called "the realists." The new federal Premier, for example, is Oldrich Cernik, who was also Premier during the Dubcek period but has since shown his willingness to cooperate with the Soviet occupiers.

Many of the other appointees have no previous political experience. Jan Marko, the new Foreign Minister, was the chief of the Slovak Commission for Technology. At the provincial level, the new Czech Premier, Stanislav Razl, is a former minister of the chemical industry, and the Slovak Premier, Stefan Sadovsky, is a former Dubcek supporter who has apparently abandoned his earlier enthusiasm for liberalism in favor of realism.

The Last Hero. The predominance of realists in the new governments has only heightened the tension in Czechoslovakia over the fate of Josef Smrkovsky, who, with Dubcek's decline, remains the last hero toCzechoslovakia's disillusioned workers, students and intellectuals. An unrepentant liberal, Smrkovsky lost his post as president of the National Assembly when that body was abolished to make way for the new legislature. In the new system, he temporarily holds the equivalent post of president of the federal parliament. At the behest of the Russians, the realists have started a campaign to take that post away from Smrkovsky. The workers, including the 900,000 members of the metalworkers' union, have pledged to go out on strike if Smrkovsky is not given the job--and thousands of students have made similar vows. The issue of the appointment will not be decided for another week or so, but Smrkovsky's ouster just might fan the smoldering embers of discontent in Czechoslovakia into a blaze.

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