Story Comments

This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »

The problem is that this was his WORST illness so far - and its recurring; not always identical, but the same paradigm. He was a chain-smoker, he suffered from lung-problems during his imprisonment by the Communists and he has a bout of illness every winter.
Far from a perfect being - nor would he imagine himself as such! - he is very close to the national psyche and far more popular with the wider public than any other public personality in any field. So these bouts of ill-health are something of a national trauma - though the somewhat phlegmatic Czech character does not manifest this as public wailing and gnashing of teeth. Fact is that he's irreplaceable and a link through the decades of occupation and oppression leading to the final freedom and independence of Czechoslovakia. The separation from Slovakia is another story but not one in which Havel played a significant role.His firsst wife died about a decade ago and Havel took some flak for rather swiftly remarrying a much younger actress but he sees her as a guardian angel and most people have accepted that she does play a valuable role. If there is any criticism of Havel it is probably that he was not watchful enough over the new freedoms. They were frequently taken advantage of by selfish individuals in ways that brought little benefit to the nation. The corruption level is high - even I get frequent reminders, though I'm entirely outside the political realm. What is certain is that Havel will be truly missed and mourned and each time he is hit by sickness its a reminder of how much we will miss him. And how happy we aare when he's better - though this time there is more of a caveat that he still needs to rest and recuperate. Perhaps one or more of his buddies and soulmates like Lou Reed or Mick Jagger will show up to cheer him up. The Dalai Lama was here a few weeks ago so he'll not be back for a while..

0 Replies