RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 3, No. 169, Part II, 31 August 1999

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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 3, No. 169, Part II, 31 August 1999

A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern
Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the
staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

This is Part II, a compilation of news concerning Central,
Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Part I covers Russia,
Transcaucasia and Central Asia and is distributed
simultaneously as a second document. Back issues of RFE/RL
Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at RFE/RL's Web
site: http://www.rferl.org/newsline

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Headlines, Part II

* BELARUS TO HAVE GOVERNMENT IN EXILE?

* U.S. WARNS UCK

* MENINGITIS EPIDEMIC POSTPONES ROMANIAN SCHOOLYEAR

End Note: FISCHER WINS, KLAUS LOSES
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EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE

BELARUS TO HAVE GOVERNMENT IN EXILE? Exiled Supreme Soviet
Chairman Syamyon Sharetski, who is Belarusian head of state
under the 1994 constitution, proposed on 30 August that the
Supreme Soviet approve former Premier Mikhail Chyhir as head
of a new government, RFE/RL's Belarusian Service reported.
Chyhir remains in jail, having been arrested on charges of
embezzlement in March. No Western country has so far taken a
position on Sharetski's powers following the end of President
Alyaksandr Lukashenka's legitimate term as of 20 July.
Meanwhile, Russian President Boris Yeltsin on 30 August
congratulated Lukashenka on his 45th birthday and assured him
that Moscow opposes "all Western and certain neighboring
countries' attempts to put pressure on Belarus," according to
Interfax. JM

BELARUSIAN OPPOSITIONISTS SAY KUCHMA SHOULD NOT MEET
LUKASHENKA. A group of prominent Belarusian oppositionists
has appealed to Ukrainian political parties and organizations
to "remind" Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma that Lukashenka
is now a "usurper," Belapan reported on 30 August. The appeal
calls Kuchma's planned meeting with Lukashenka in Belarus a
"political and moral mistake. To support Lukashenka means to
approve the restoration of the Russian empire," the
Belarusian oppositionists conclude. JM

BELARUS'S 1999 HARVEST FAR BELOW TARGET. Belarus's harvest is
"significantly lower than was planned," Belarusian Television
reported on 30 August. According to the Agricultural
Ministry, the country has harvested 3.7 million tons of
grain, down from some 5 million last year and far below the
1999 planned target of 6 million tons. The average grain
yield was 1.73 tons per hectare. JM

KUCHMA SAYS LEFTIST PRESIDENT SPELLS UKRAINE'S ISOLATION.
Leonid Kuchma said in Simferopol on 30 August that Ukraine
will find itself in "political and economic isolation" if a
left-wing candidate wins this fall's presidential elections,
Interfax reported. Kuchma argued that if a leftist president
is installed in Ukraine, "the world will never agree to
restructure or write off our debts, and we will become
bankrupt and a default will be declared." He expressed the
conviction that his re-election will make it possible for
Ukraine to restructure its debts. "Poland had $15 billion of
its external debt written off, and it is time to do the same
for Ukraine," the "Eastern Economic Daily" quoted Kuchma as
saying. JM

UKRAINE, GREECE SIGN MILITARY COOPERATION ACCORD. Greek
Defense Minister Akis Tsohatzpoulos and Ukrainian Industry
Minister Vasyl Hureyev, meeting in Kyiv on 30 August, signed
an agreement on military and technical cooperation, Interfax
reported. Ukraine will soon supply two hovercrafts worth $100
million to the Greek navy. Tsohatzpoulos told journalists
that Greece is also interested in buying tanks and transport
planes from Ukraine. JM

RUSSIAN PARTIES JOIN FORCES FOR ESTONIAN ELECTION. ETA
reported on 31 August that the Russian United Peoples' Party
and the Russian Party in Estonia have announced they will set
aside their past quarrels and combine forces for the upcoming
local elections in the capital The new alliance is called the
Peoples' Choice. The Peoples' Trust, which is composed of
various Russian organizations and headed by parliamentary
deputy Sergei Ivanov, has also declared its intention to run
in the Tallinn local elections. AB

RUSSIAN ACTIVIST ORDERED TO LEAVE ESTONIA. BNS reported on
August 30 that the Estonian Citizenship and Migration
Department (KMA) has ordered Oleg Morozov, a leader of the
Tallinn Russian Citizens' Union, to leave the country. Under
that order, Morozov, a Russian citizen who has refused to
apply for a residence permit, must leave the country by 20
January 2000. A spokesman for KMA told BNS that "Morozov was
informed that he will have until then to legalize his stay in
Estonia." AB

LATVIA'S SKELE SAYS 'CHEKIST' RUSSIAN PREMIER OBSTACLE TO
IMPROVED RELATIONS. LETA reported on 30 August that Latvian
Prime Minister Andris Skele said on Latvian Independent
Television the previous day that no major improvement in
Latvian-Russian relations should be expected, given that the
head of the Russian government, Vladimir Putin, is a former
"chekist." While many Latvian lawmakers did not dispute
Skele's analysis, a large number criticized him for speaking
so candidly and running the risk of offending the Russian
government. The Latvian Foreign Ministry reaffirmed on 30
August that, irrespective of Skele's statement, Latvia
remains open to dialogue with Russia. It noted that it is a
government priority to develop good relations with all
neighboring countries. MJZ

LATVIAN PRESIDENT AGREES TO FIRST POST-1991 STATE VISIT TO
ESTONIA. BNS reported on 30 August that President Vaira Vike-
Freiberga has agreed to make the first state visit by a
Latvian head of state to Estonia since independence was
renewed in 1991. Vike-Freiberga agreed to the visit during a
meeting with Estonian President Lennart Meri at Meri's summer
residence at Paslepa. No date has been announced for the
visit. Vike-Freiberga's predecessor, Guntis Ulmanis, never
paid an official state visit to Estonia during his six-year
tenure as Latvian head of state. MJZ

LITHUANIAN PARLIAMENT TAKES UP BUDGET CUT PROPOSAL. Finance
Minister Jonas Lionginas has asked the parliament not to
delay the passage of the adjusted 1999 Budget Law, ELTA
reported on 30 August. The proposed cut to the total state
budget is 537 million litas ($134.2 million). Lionginas noted
that international finance organizations are watching the
outcome of the parliament's deliberations because those
debates will affect the country's investment ratings and
ability to borrow. BNS reported that opposition leader
Ceslovas Jursenas continued to criticize the government's
proposed budget cuts as "unrealistic." AB

POLISH DEPUTY PREMIER TO BECOME LUSTRATION VICTIM? Citing a
"reliable source" at the Lustration Court, PAP reported on 31
August that Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister
Janusz Tomaszewski's statement denying collaboration with
Communist-era secret services has been questioned by the
lustration prosecutor and sent to the court for scrutiny.
Tomaszewski, a member of the ruling Solidarity Electoral
Action (AWS), was a Solidarity activist in the 1980s. The
communist authorities arrested him during the 1981 crackdown
on Solidarity. AWS official Jacek Rybicki said the previous
day that an AWS member should resign his public post if his
lustration statement has come under scrutiny by the court. JM

CZECH AUTHORITIES HALT CONSTRUCTION OF CONTROVERSIAL WALL.
The Usti nad Labem regional authorities have rescinded the
permission granted to a local company to erect a two-meter-
high ceramic wall fencing off Roma from other inhabitants,
Reuters reported on 30 August. That permission had been
granted by a municipal district council, which said that the
permit's withdrawal is "temporary." The decision to withdraw
the permit was taken because the wall would violate
"environmental and human rights," the agency reported, citing
Czech Television. Construction of the wall was to have begun
on 31 August. MS

CZECH PREMIER HINTS DEPUTY WILL BE SANCTIONED. Prime Minister
Milos Zeman on 30 August said he will make no exception in
handling the case of Deputy Premier Egon Lansky, who is
suspected of violating financial legislation, CTK reported.
The law will apply "to a deputy premier as to any other
citizen," Zeman told the Frekvence 1 radio station. Lansky,
who is responsible for European integration, admitted he did
not apply for a permit from the National Bank before he
opened an account in Austria. He admitted that he "probably
committed a misdemeanor." In 1996, the Finance Ministry
allegedly transferred to Lansky's Austrian account 290,000
crowns (some $8,300) in partial settlement of a debt that the
state owed a Luxembourg company whose head is one of Lansky's
friends. MS

SLOVAKIA TO INTRODUCE VISA REQUIREMENTS FOR UKRAINIANS.
Inspecting the Slovak-Ukrainian border on 30 August, Interior
Minister Ladislav Pittner told journalists that Slovakia will
"probably" introduce visa requirements for Ukrainian citizens
and nationals of other former Soviet countries by the end of
1999, CTK reported. He said he would have preferred the
requirement to have been introduced a long time ago but noted
that Slovakia wished to coordinate its visa policy with that
of the Czech Republic and other Visegrad group countries.
Pittner said that the Slovak government regards the border
with Ukraine as being "the future eastern border of the EU"
and that "Brussels views it the same way." MS

HUNGARIAN CHESS CHAMPIONS LEAVE FOR ISRAEL. The parents of
three world-famous Hungarian chess players, the Polgar
sisters, have decided to spend part of the year in Israel
because of increasing anti-Semitic hate mail against the
family, Laszlo Polgar, the sisters' father, told Hungarian
and international media on 29 August. Letters addressed to
the Polgars suggested that the family leave for Israel
because "that's where you belong." "We have received such
letters before, but it has gotten worse lately," Polgar
explained. In other news, the U.S. Embassy in Budapest on 30
August denied a "Nepszabadsag" report that said Hungarian
officials obstructed co-operation between Hungarian and U.S.
law enforcement agencies (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 August
1999). MSZ

SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

U.S. WARNS UCK... U.S. Ambassador to the UN Richard Holbrooke
said in Prishtina on 30 August that "ethnic differences in
this region really are...just racism. The Serbs of this
region have a historic right to live here, too." The
ambassador stressed that Kosova is the "ultimate test for the
UN's capability and its potential." Speaking at the same
press conference, U.S. Senator Joseph Biden warned the Kosova
Liberation Army (UCK) that it must meet its 19 September
deadline to disarm completely: "If it appeared as though the
very forces...and people we came to help were now not engaged
on a path that was moving toward democratization, support
from the U.S. Congress would evaporate overnight," Biden
said. The senator warned against any attempts to partition
Kosova on an ethnic basis. PM

...BUT ARE THE KOSOVAR GUERRILLAS LISTENING? After meeting
with Holbrooke, General Agim Ceku, who heads the UCK General
Staff, said in Prishtina on 30 August that his organization
will meet the deadline. He added, however, that "the UCK will
transform in several directions.... One part will become part
of the police, one part will become civil administration, one
part will become the Army of Kosova, as a defense force. And
another part will form a political party." Holbrooke refused
to comment on Ceku's remarks. The June agreement between NATO
and the UCK does not refer to any Kosova army. PM

RAHOVEC DEADLOCK CONTINUES. On 30 August, ethnic Albanians
began their second week of protest aimed at preventing
Russian KFOR troops from entering their town (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 24 August 1999). Russian officers called off a
planned meeting with local Albanians when the Russians
learned that General Wolfgang Sauer could not be present at
the talks. It is unclear why the German commander was not
available. PM

UN SECURITY COUNCIL WANTS END TO VIOLENCE. The UN's highest
body said in a statement on 30 August that it condemns
violence against civilians in Kosova, especially against
members of ethnic minorities. The text also reaffirmed "the
principle of respect for the sovereignty and territorial
integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia," AP
reported. PM

UNMIK CALLS ON KOSOVA FIRMS TO REGISTER. Officials of the
United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) called on import-
export firms to register with UNMIK, RFE/RL's South Slavic
Service reported on 30 August. UNMIK officials said that they
want to introduce import-export permits to put an end to the
current "chaos," which, they added, has been exploited by
organized criminals from Albania. PM

'FIRST SHOCK WAVES' FROM SERBIA'S NEW REFUGEES. The school
year is about to begin in Serbia, which for many communities
has led to the first serious problems in conjunction with the
170,000 refugees from Kosova, Belgrade's "Danas" reported on
30 August. Many of the refugees are housed in schools, and
alternative quarters are proving difficult to find. In
Kraljevo, which is north of Kosova, there are 350 teachers
and 3,500 school-age children among 26,000 refugees, but few
of those children will be allowed to register for classes
there. The Belgrade authorities insist that, wherever
possible, refugee children return to schools in Kosova.
Failing that, the children are to register in districts
bordering the province. The only pupils who will be allowed
to register elsewhere in Serbia are those whose parents were
sent there by the government or their employer. PM

ALBANIAN LEADERS URGE VOJVODINA HUNGARIANS TO BE MORE
ASSERTIVE. President Rexhep Meidani and Prime Minister
Pandeli Majko told visiting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor
Orban in Tirana on 30 August that Vojvodina should have a
"new status." The Albanian leaders did not elaborate, dpa
reported. Majko said that unnamed Serbian politicians are
speaking more about Serbia and less about Yugoslavia.
Vojvodina Hungarians should also "think more about
themselves," the Albanian prime minister commented. PM

KFOR, MACEDONIA TRADE CHARGES. A KFOR spokesman said in
Skopje on 30 August that a Norwegian peacekeeper being held
by Macedonian authorities can be investigated or tried only
by Norway in conjunction with a recent fatal traffic accident
(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 August 1999). Macedonian media
accused KFOR of "arrogant, violent, and insensitive behavior"
since the peacekeepers arrived in the spring, Reuters
reported. Interior Minister Pavle Trajanov demanded tighter
controls by Macedonian authorities over the movements of KFOR
forces. He called for a ban on helicopter flights over Skopje
at night and for "regulation" of troop movements and
soldiers' leaves. In Brussels, top NATO officials met with
the Macedonian ambassador. The outcome of the talks is not
known. PM

BATIC SETS CONDITIONS FOR SERBIAN ELECTIONS. Vladan Batic,
who is one of the leaders of the opposition Alliance for
Change, said in Belgrade on 30 August that the alliance will
not take part in any elections in which there are candidates
whom the Hague-based war crimes tribunal has indicted. The
alliance also insisted that persons whom the EU has banned
from travel to EU states not be allowed to run for office.
Observers note that these two conditions are tantamount to a
rejection of any election in which Yugoslav President
Slobodan Milosevic and his top officials participate.
Elsewhere, a spokesman for Milosevic's Socialist Party said
that there is no need for foreign monitors to observe any
elections in Serbia. He added that "the stories of electoral
fraud are unreal and so are the [opposition's] demands for
OSCE monitors," AP reported. PM

DODIK SAYS NO ELECTIONS IN REPUBLIKA SRPSKA. Nikola Poplasen,
whom the international community's Carlos Westendorp has
sacked as Republika Srpska president but who refuses to step
down, wrote caretaker Prime Minister Milorad Dodik and
parliamentary speaker Petar Djokic that parliamentary
elections must be held soon. He argued that early elections
are the only way out of a deadlock that has left the Bosnian
Serb entity without a government for nearly a year, the
Frankfurt-based Serbian daily "Vesti" reported on 31 August.
Dodik replied that Poplasen is no longer president and has no
right to seek new elections. Dodik added that Poplasen's move
was instigated by unnamed persons in Serbia in order to
destabilize the Republika Srpska. He did not elaborate,
Reuters reported. PM

EXPERTS FIND MASS GRAVES IN BOSNIA. Forensics experts from
the Muslim Commission for Missing Persons found a mass grave
near Serb-held Teslic, in the Doboj region, Sarajevo's
"Dnevni avaz" reported on 31 August. A commission spokesman
said that the grave may contain the remains of more than 40
Muslims. Experts recently exhumed a grave containing 10
Muslims or Croats in the Serbian Sarajevo suburb of Grbavica.
PM

CALL FOR ETHNIC SERBS TO VOTE IN CROATIAN ELECTIONS. Milorad
Pupovac, who is a political leader of Croatia's ethnic Serbs,
told the Belgrade daily "Vecernje novosti" of 30 August that
he wants Zagreb to allow Croatian Serb refugees living in
Serbia to vote in the upcoming parliamentary elections. He
added that he believes that the international community will
support his efforts. Observers noted that prior to the
dissolution of former Yugoslavia in 1991, ethnic Serbs formed
some 12 percent of Croatia's population. They now form
perhaps 2 percent. The Croatian authorities are unlikely to
allow the refugees to vote lest they tip the political
balance in many districts. PM

'TUTA' TO THE HAGUE THIS WEEK? A leading Croatian legal
expert told "Jutarnji list" of 31 August that the authorities
might extradite indicted war criminal Mladen "Tuta" Naletilic
to The Hague as early as 2 September (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
30 August 1999). On 30 August, a Zagreb court ruled that Tuta
is well enough to stand trial, overturning an earlier ruling
that he is too ill to do so. In The Hague, chief prosecutor
Louise Arbour told the Zagreb daily that Croatian President
Franjo Tudjman actively sought the partition of Bosnia during
the 1992-1995 conflict. She added, however, that this in
itself does not constitute a war crime. PM

MENINGITIS EPIDEMIC POSTPONES ROMANIAN SCHOOLYEAR. The start
of the new school year has been postponed for at least one
week in five Romanian counties and in Bucharest, RFE/RL's
bureau in the capital reported. Nearly 4,000 cases of
meningitis have been registered so far. Health Minister Hajdu
Gabor said school directors who ignore the order will be sent
to prison. MS

ROMANIAN JOURNALIST SAYS HE WAS ORDERED TO WRITE ANTI-SEMITIC
ARTICLES. Mihai Antonescu, told prosecutors that his former
boss, publisher of "Atac la persoana" Dumitru Dragomir,
ordered him to write anti-Semitic articles. Antonescu quit
his job as the weekly's deputy chief editor last week and
currently is being investigated on charges of incitement to
racial hatred. Dragomir, who is one of the three deputy
chairmen of the Romanian Soccer Federation (FRF), denies the
allegation and claims Antonescu bears sole responsibility for
the articles he wrote, Reuters reported on 30 August. The
International Federation of Amateur Football has asked the
FRF to investigate Dragomir's responsibility, following
complaints by the New York-based Anti-Defamation League (see
"RFE/RL Newsline," 23 August 1999). MS

MOLDOVA TO RESTORE BULGARIAN DISTRICT? Petar Konstantinov,
chairman of the Bulgarian National Committee for the
Protection of Bulgarians Beyond Borders, told journalists in
Sofia on 30 August that the Moldovan government has decided
to restore the separate status of the Taraclia district, BTA
reported. The district, whose population is 60 percent
Bulgarian, was incorporated in the newly established Cahul
County earlier this year. Konstantinov said this is the first
time that the Bulgarian minority in Moldova has successfully
protected its rights. He added that if the legislature
rejects the government decision, the Bulgarians of Taraclia
will hold elections on setting up a "self-governing
authority." MS

BULGARIAN CHIEF OF STAFF CRITICIZES PLANNED CUTS. General
Miha Mihov on 30 August criticized the government's plans for
cuts in the military over the next four years, AFP reported.
Mihov told the daily "Standart" that the plans are
"increasingly demoralizing and infuriating" members of the
armed forces, creating "tension" and "insecurity" among them.
Under the government plans, the armed forces will have only
7,000 officers by 2004, instead of the current 15,000. The
government, Mihov said, hopes this will improve Bulgaria's
chances of joining NATO. Mihov also criticized the Defense
Ministry for having no plans to help soldiers who are
demobilized. MS

BULGARIAN COURT ORDERS REGISTRATION OF CONTROVERSIAL PARTY.
The Supreme Administrative Court has overturned the 25 August
decision of the Central Electoral Commission to refuse to
register the Ilinden United Macedonian Organization-PIRIN.
The decision is final and cannot be appealed, BTA reported on
30 August. PIRIN is the Bulgarian abbreviation for "Party of
Economic Development and Integration of the Population" but
is also the name of part of historical Macedonia that now
belongs to Bulgaria. PIRIN was set up in 1998 and strives to
preserve the traditions of Pirin Macedonians and refugees
from Aegean Macedonia. The Constitutional Court has still to
rule on an appeal by 61 deputies of various political stripes
who want PIRIN outlawed on grounds of violating the
constitutional provision that bans parties set up on ethnic
or religious lines. MS

END NOTE

FISCHER WINS, KLAUS LOSES

By Victor Gomez

	Something is stirring in the Czech Republic's political
morass. The overwhelming victory of a travel agency owner in
a Senate by-election has galvanized both the media and the
public and shaken up the country's political power-brokers.
Riding on the fame of his successful travel agency and a
large amount of campaign spending, Vaclav Fischer has swept
into the Senate with the support of more than 71 percent of
those who voted in his Prague district. In so doing, he
crushed seven candidates who were all supported by political
parties.
	However, it is easy to over-estimate the importance of
high-profile by-elections. First, only 34 percent of eligible
voters bothered to participate. The low turnout is in keeping
with previous elections to the upper house and belies the
ongoing public impression that the Senate is a useless and
largely powerless public body. It should also be remembered
that Fischer is by no means the first independent candidate
to run in a Czech election. While Fischer may certainly have
benefited from growing public frustration with politicians
and parties, it should also be noted that few independent
candidates have so much money and name-recognition. Thus,
Fischer's success does not automatically mean that dozens of
other Fischers will appear on the Czech political horizon in
the near future.
	That said, this particular by-election is important for
at least two reasons--one practical and the other symbolic.
First, the election means that the parties of Prime Minister
Milos Zeman and Chamber of Deputies Chairman Vaclav Klaus no
longer have a constitutional majority in the Senate. This
will make it more difficult for Klaus and Zeman to fulfill
one of the key aspects of their so-called "opposition
agreement." Under that agreement, the two parties are to use
their constitutional majority to push through a package of
constitutional and legal amendments designed to change the
country's electoral system and alter the powers of certain
state bodies. While the parties are still haggling over the
electoral changes, they have come to a preliminary agreement
on amendments that would limit certain presidential powers.
	For his part, Fischer has made it clear that he is
opposed to the "opposition agreement" between Zeman and
Klaus, as well as to their decision to use their parties'
combined majority in the parliament to pass constitutional
amendments. While Fischer has also said he is not opposed in
principle to changing the electoral system, his animosity
toward the "opposition agreement" itself makes it unlikely
that he would support any major constitutional changes
initiated by Zeman and Klaus. Since four of the other five
parties represented in the Senate have said they are opposed
to the package of amendments, that leaves the four Communist
senators. The Communists have sent out mixed signals on the
issue. On the one hand, the party has been a vocal opponent
of the "opposition agreement." On the other hand, it has
voiced support for the idea of restricting the president's
powers.
	The issue appears to be a delicate one for the purveyors
of the "opposition agreement." Neither Zeman nor Klaus will
want to be seen making deals with Communist senators in order
to pass changes to the constitution. Despite its recent
success in public opinion polls, the Communist Party remains
anathema to many Czechs and particularly within Klaus's Civic
Democratic Party (ODS). Aware of this problem, some ODS
members have started emphasizing that constitutional changes
require the support of only a three-fifths majority of all
Senators present at the time the vote is taken. In other
words, the ODS has been reduced to hoping that at least one
senator takes ill on the day the upper house is to vote on
major changes to the constitution. In sum, Fischer's victory
seems to have thrown a wrench into the workings of the
"opposition agreement."
	However, this does not mean that Zeman and Klaus cannot
go ahead with plans to change the electoral law. At present,
the two parties are discussing the possibility of introducing
"majoritarian elements" into the lower house's proportional
representation system. Such changes would not require a
constitutional amendment, and the two parties have a strong
enough majority in both houses to pass any law they agree on.
	This leads to the second key aspect of Fischer's
election. The fact that Klaus's party was defeated in the
heart of a city considered an ODS stronghold is significant
in its own right. Nevertheless, the defeat would not have
acquired as much symbolic significance as it did if Klaus had
not become so actively involved in the election campaign. He
personally pushed his party into accepting the actress Jirina
Jiraskova as its candidate. He attended many of her rallies
and exhorted voters to support her. And he signed his name
under advertisements and posters that not only emphasized the
crucial importance of the vote but also contained personal
attacks against Fischer.
	Thus, the result was not so much Fischer's victory as
Klaus's defeat. Klaus staked his own popularity on a by-
election that was supposed to result in a "comfortable"
victory for his party--and lost. One wonders what voters
might do if he forces through changes to the electoral system
that are clearly designed to give his party a "comfortable"
majority in the parliament.
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