During the reception offered on Thursday at Círculo de Bellas Artes to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Republic of Slovakia, Ambassador Vladimir Gracz (in the above photo, during the toast) pointed out that we are going through “quite a deep moral crisis” and warned that the current disintegrating trends are becoming stronger “in many levels, including that of our beloved EU”.
Therefore, Gracz considered convenient to talk about the “lessons and moral” of the separation of Czechia and Slovakia -the so-called “velvet divorce”– 25 years ago, because “it is very present at the moment”. The ambassador pointed out that “I am happy with my country, but it is also true that we had a wonderful country, which was Czechoslovakia”. And he explained that, “25 years ago, despite that 70-80% of both parties did not want the country’s division, politicians agreed on it, changed the Constitution and eliminated the right to decide for the people”.
Nevertheless, Gracz emphasized that Czechs and Slovaks proved to be more mature than their politicians: “They accepted the division and started building their states. Now we have two states as magnificent, at least, as Czechoslovakia was”. Therefore, the ambassador bet on “valuing the past, accepting the present and making an effort to build the future”.
As for bilateral relations with Spain, Slovakia’s Ambassador pointed out that “they are simply excellent” and emphasized the wonderful collaboration between both countries in bilateral forums, as well as the growth of economic and cultural relations in these last years.
Text and photos: A. Rubio. 15/01/2018
Slovakia’s Ambassador, Vladimir Gracz, with his Czech colleague, Katerina Lukesova.
The hosts receive Latvia’s Ambassador, Argita Daudze, and her husband.
Cape Verde’s Ambassador, Manuel Ney Monteiro, and the cultural coordinator of The Diplomat, Juan David Latorre.
Venezuela’s Ambassador, Mario isea, and Iran’s Ambassador, Mohammad H. Fadaifard.
The journalists Juan Cuesta, Pedro González and Enrique Peris, with the director of the Representation of the European Commission in Madrid, Aránzazu Beristain.
