No-Confidence Vote Ousts Slovak Leader : Europe: Populist crusader Meciar is a victim of a sagging economy. Political allies desert him.

The Parliament of Slovakia voted Friday to oust populist Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar, who spearheaded the nationalist drive that brought about the 1993 break-up of Czechoslovakia and set the poorer eastern lands on a course for economic ruin.

The 78-2 vote of no-confidence in Meciar, cast after a two-day debate in the Slovak capital of Bratislava, reflected the political and social turmoil that has gradually consumed Slovakia since its damaging split from the Czech lands 14 months ago.

Under the Slovak constitution, the Cabinet must resign after a parliamentary vote of no-confidence.

President Michal Kovac must then designate an interim prime minister to propose a new government, which must secure parliamentary endorsement in 30 days.

Meciar, who still enjoys strong popular support despite recent political setbacks, became vulnerable to parliamentary ouster after nine deputies defected from his Movement for a Democratic Slovakia last month.

At least a dozen other lawmakers from the movement and its coalition partner, the Slovak Nationalist Party, had switched allegiances in the last six months in protest of the prime minister’s authoritarian and combative leadership style.

Deputies from Meciar’s coalition abstained from the no-confidence vote.

True to his pugilist background, Meciar went down fighting.

“You all know I shall win the elections,” he warned the deputies before their vote to oust him. “You are opposing something you cannot even grasp.”

The Czech news agency CTK said Meciar spoke for more than two hours, urging the Parliament to oust the turncoat deputies rather than his government.

The Slovak Parliament had been virtually paralyzed since the latest defections, making it impossible for either the prime minister’s coalition or the opposition to push through legislation that might have set the nation on a path toward recovery.

While the Czech Republic has surged ahead with reforms since the peaceful Jan. 1, 1993, divorce of Czechoslovakia into two separate countries, Slovakia has watched its antiquated heavy industries slip deeper into bankruptcy while unemployment has topped 12% and inflation gallops at triple-digit rates.

Meciar had been campaigning for early elections in June to cash in on his continued voter appeal before living conditions could erode further. But he had been encountering resistance from opposition deputies who know their parties would fare better later in the year, when the economic crisis has had more time to influence voters.

“Our first task will be to secure a peaceful early election,” said Roman Kovac, a former deputy prime minister who is considered a possible successor to Meciar.

No date has been set for new elections, but they are likely to be called this autumn to resolve the governing crisis that has resulted from so many members of the 150-seat Parliament switching parties to protest Meciar’s failed economic policies.

New elections may do little to simplify the political chaos, as voter sympathies appear polarized between the far right and former Communist left.