How Novotny Fell

...Sik's words were received coolly by most members of the Central Committee, a conservative group of over-cautious apparat-chiki who, in their own interest, do not want to rock the Party boat too much...

...On December 8, Leonid Brezhnev suddenly arrived in Prague...

...He came at Novotny's invitation, without the Central Committee's knowledge, although the official announcement in the Party press emphasized that the Soviet Party boss had been invited by the Central Committee—a fact that was later cited in the criticism of Novotny for behind-the-scenes intrigues...

...Novotny angrily retorted that Dubcek sounded like a "bourgeois nationalist...

...Throughout the crisis the Party secretariat was in a panic, with heads of departments refusing to discuss what was actually happening in the Central Committee...

...In turn, Simon declared that intra-Party and not economic problems were discussed, so that comrade Havlicek was the man to approach...

...A proposal was made that there should be no time limit on speakers in the debate, and that they should not be hand-picked by the Presidium in the customary manner but simply called upon as their hands were raised...

...Pavel Ticrid, a previous contributor, is the editor of Svedect-vi, a Paris-based Czech magazine...

...Sik demanded future acceptance of the right to form opposition groups within the Central Committee...

...Until Jan-3, the direction of both Party and state affairs was to be in the hands of the Presidium as an entity, chaired not by Novotny but by the doyen of the body, Jaromir Dolansky...

...After the mid-December session, when editors-in-chief of Party journals demanded some kind of guidance from Frantisek Havlicek, head of the Ideological Department, they were told that the Central Committee discussions concerned economic problems and therefore the head of the Department of Economy, comrade Bohumil Simon, would be in a better position to brief them...

...During a discussion of the so-called "leading role of the Party," a resolution was offered by Jiri Hen-drych, the regime's chief ideologist and Novotny's right hand man...

...In the light of the final decision, it is likely that the majority of these people will eventually lose their jobs...

...The attempt failed, Dubcek's good relations with the Soviets apparently proving a considerable factor...

...Slovak Presidium member Dubcek accused Novotny of ignoring the "collective decisions" of the Party leadership, adding that this kind of cheating was a favorite game of the First Secretary and his supporters whenever Slovakia was at issue...

...After this procedure was approved, an "old guard" Party member, Frantisek Vodslon, formally proposed that Novotny relinquish his Party Secretaryship...

...The most far-reaching address was delivered by Professor Ota Sik, father of the new economic plan, which came into effect on January 1, 1967, only to be consistently sabotaged by the Novotny clique...

...This restrained Soviet attitude failed to break the Presidium deadlock, forcing the Central Committee to put off its session another week...

...But this differed in important respects from a version previously agreed to by the Presidium, setting off a heated exchange...

...While basically supporting Novot-ny, Brezhnev declined to become too deeply involved in the internal affairs of a fraternal Party, and simply insisted that Novotny should remain President of the Republic...

...His candidate was Michal Chudik, another Slovak Presidium member but a staunch supporter of the regime...

...Deliberations continued to center around the question of whether the functions of the President of the Republic and the First Party Secretary should be separated...

...The tension long latent within the Czechoslovak Party came to the surface at a plenary session of the Central Committee held last October 30-31...

...Thus the fatal question of the relationship between the Party and the government was broached for the first time—and, significantly, by a Slovak on a Slovakian issue...

...Indeed, the exclusion of Sik from the Presidium is itself significant...

...On the other hand, the series of Central Committee sessions did not reveal any new approaches, besides the defeated Sik proposals, for solving the country's many problems...

...Nevertheless, support for the Vodslon proposal did grow and Novot-ny's backers, eager for time, again attempted to postpone a decision...

...Since only about 30 of the 80-odd members who wanted to speak managed to do so...

...The session was adjourned until January 3. But the reformers did secure several critical gains...

...Novotny sought to use the respite to bring about Dubcek's dismissal as First Secretary of the Slovak Communist Party...

...His ouster as First Secretary makes East Germany's Walter Ulbricht the last of the dogmatic "old guard" Communists firmly in power today...

...even though the plenary session was extended a day, they succeeded...

...The immediate crisis in Prague ended with the decision to strip Novotny of the Party leadership, and the present mood in political and intellectual circles is said to be one of restrained optimism...

...Ideologist Hen-drych preferred to remain aloof from the criticism of the Novotny regime, but finally had to admit his role in the formulation of policies directed against the intellectuals...

...Novotny himself took the floor, indulged in some mild self-criticism, and tried to appease the Slovak members of the Committee...

...Prime Minister Jozef Lenart's silence throughout the Central Committee sessions (he was, in fact, the only Presidium member who not speak up at all) infuriated his fellow Slovak delegates...

...In the case of an affirmative recommendation, two candidates for the First Secretaryship were to be proposed...

...The Presidium was also to be enlarged during this period by 10 Party officials from the 10 regions (kraj) into which Czechoslovakia is divided...

...Since the early '50s, Novotny had ruled Czechoslovakia in the dual role of Party leader and President of the Republic, a largely ceremonial post he still retains...

...Similarly, two other Central Committee members kept silent, although they were indebted to Novotny and considered loyal supporters: Josef Kudma, the Minister of the Interior, and General Bohumir Lomsky...

...According to the report that has reached Paris, the hope is that a "middle roader" like Dubcek may be able to work a compromise between the dogmatists and the reformers...

...When that body finally did convene on December 19, it was announced that the Presidium could not resolve the Novotny problem, leaving the Central Committee with the task of making a decision...

...He added, however, thathis actions were taken "under the pressure of comrade Novotny...

...the Minister of Defense...

...But only now, with the help of a report that has reached Paris from a source close to the events, is it possible to piece together a detailed account of the bitter three-month struggle in the Central Committee and 10-member Presidium of the Czechoslovak Communist party, which culminated in Novotny's being replaced by 46-year-old Alexander Dubcek...

...A number of Central Committee members fought hard for Novotny, while others thought to be among his supporters remained silent...

...Attacking the basis of Novotny's power, Dubcek replied that to begin with such a division would require a separation of Party from government functions...

...BEHIND THE SHIFT IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA How Novotny Fell Paris Adeepening economic crisis, a Slovak minority on the verge of revolt against Prague's rigid centralism, an intelligentsia already openly opposing restrictive Party policies, student demonstrations in the streets, worker apathy in the factories—all contributed to the downfall on January 5 of Antonin Novotny and his team of docile, colorless, hopelessly inefficient apparatchiki...

...First Party secretaries "of these regions, most of whom are known to be Novotny's stooges, were excluded from this selection...

...Meanwhile, the scheduled Central Committee meeting was postponed and several Presidium meetings were held in quick succession...

...The Central Committee session ended inconclusively, and it was decided to continue the discussion on November 12...

...Michal Chudik ranked among the most outspoken Novotny defenders...

...This enlarged Presidium was to deliberate throughout the Christmas holidays and make a final recommendation to the Central Committee as to whether the two top functions in the country should be divided...

...In addition, he urged that commissions of experts be attached to the Central Committee to direct the economy and that their decisions be binding on Party officials at all levels...

...His poorly conceived intervention, however, merely served to further offend the Slovaks...

...Party rule apparently will continue to prevail in all spheres of life in Czechoslovakia...

...If the Slovaks really were unhappy, he said, then perhaps a federalist solution of the Czech-Slovak problem—with two national councils and separate fiscal arrangements—would be best...

...But perhaps more significant is the election to full membership of a group of regional apparatchiki with no government experience or expert knowledge...

...It was he who tried to threaten the Central Committee by declaring that the "working class" would not stand by with folded hands if Novotny?a comrade of great merit and international reputation"—was demoted...