European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 24, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Czechoslovak president Vaclav Havel right with defense minister Miroslav Vacek. New governments have been unable to fulfil High Hopes. Fragile democracies face hard time disillusionment grips Eastern Europe by Matthew c. Vita Cox news service for or Laszlone the verdict is in on Hungary a year old transformation from communism to democracy. Quot As far As in a concerned its gotten worse Quot said the 35-year-old fruit stand employee. Quot i have to work harder its getting More expensive and salaries Arentt keeping  she had the Opportunity this year to vote in free elections for the first time in her life. She did no to bother to go to the polls. Quot in a not interested Quot she said. Quot i done to know these  Janina Napiorkowska is a 60-year-old Retiree living in Warsaw. She wont be voting in next weeks presidential election in Poland even though Lech Walesa and his one time ally prime minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki Are both running. Quot the group in Power now Only hides what it is doing More cleverly than the communists Quot she said. Struggling to make ends meet with her husband on his $138 a month pension mrs. Napiorkowska a mind is made up on the meaning of the political changes in her country. Quot in the old Days people used to be afraid to speak their minds Quot she said Quot but they were Able to buy food and  president Bush who last week visited Prague in his first trip to Eastern Europe since the cold War ended has repeatedly hailed the East blocks new democracies. But across Eastern Europe the euphoria of a year ago when one communist regime after another was toppled has been replaced by a palpable sense of disillusionment and concern about the future. The joyous scenes at the Berlin Wall and Prague a Wenceslas Square seem a Distant memory. Very few people want to return to the old system. But As yet democracy has brought few rewards. From the crumbling Back streets of East Berlin to the tattered industries of Bulgaria people face recession inflation and unemployment. Thrown open to the whims of the Market obsolete factories Are closing Down. Reduced soviet Oil deliveries and the persian Gulf crisis have raised the Specter of Energy shortages this Winter. The promised Gold Rush of Western investment has yet to materialize. It has been difficult for governments to counsel patience. Quot most people Are unable to understand it cannot be done so quickly Quot said Katarzyna Krajewska a cartographer in Warsaw. A people have Short  indeed it is easy to forget the remarkable transformations that have taken place Over the past 12 months in Poland Hungary Czechoslovakia Bulgaria Romania and what used to be East Germany. Every country has held free elections. Communists have been thrown out of office and replaced by the men and women they once had persecuted. Crusading newspapers free of government control Are thriving. Private businesses Are opening and some budding entrepreneurs Are already getting Rich. Borders Are open and travel is allowed. Soviet troops Are leaving. Still As economic hardships mount people Are venting their frustration against the Only target available a those in Power today. Social unrest is on the Rise. A three Day traffic blockade by hungarian taxi Drivers protesting dramatic gasoline Price increases brought the government in Budapest to the Brink of collapse. Romanians marched in Bucharest to protest Price rises. Polish Coal miners have gone on strike. Such challenges would be daunting even to the most secure of governments. In Eastern Europe they Are occurring in countries where democracy s roots Are still very shallow. Quot the greatest problem is that we Are trying to build a stable democracy in the midst of an enormous economic crisis Quot said Miklos Haraszti a poet and former dissident now a Deputy in Hungary a parliament. If nothing else the communist Brand of socialism provided East europeans with a measure of Security. Now that the safety net is gone Many people Are looking for scapegoats. Nationalistic Fervour has gripped the slovak minority in Czechoslovakia threatening to undermine its new formed democracy. Poland Hungary and what was East Germany have All experienced outbreaks of antisemitism even though few jews remain in the Region that was the Center of the holocaust. Soccer fans in Leipzig chant Quot jew jew jew Quot at a referee accused of making a bad Call. Skinheads and Neo fascists elsewhere in East Germany have attacked squatters artists Quot intellectuals and men with Long hair. Though their numbers Are Small anti semitic groups distribute literature in downtown Warsaw. Anti semitism made its Way into the polish presidential Campaign entered around whether prime minister Mazowiecki a devout roman Catholic has jewish roots. Krajewska the cartographer said she was accused of being a Quot jewish whore Quot for collecting Money for the Mazowiecki presidential Effort. Zbigniew Bujak a charismatic Solidarity Leader backing Mazowiecki confronted the Issue head on at a recent voters forum telling his audience that the problem of anti semitism Quot must be discussed openly and As much As possible so we can get rid of  Quot democracy opened up a lot of political and social problems Quot Bujak said afterwards. Quot in a Strong continued on Page 14 saturday november 24, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 13