ABSTRACT
Before 1998 it looked like Slovakia would not be able to keep pace with the other Eastern European countries because of lacking reforms. The reason for this lay in the undemocratic developments during the 1994 to 1998 term of Prime Minister Meciar and his party, the HZDS (Movement for a Democratic Slovakia). The appointment of the government in 1998 marked thus a turning point in the history of the young democracy of Slovakia. The new Prime Minister Dzurinda together with his party, the SDKÚ (Slovak Democratic and Christian Union), was able to push through economic and institutional reforms that are without equal and hence paved the way into the European Union.
