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Not until last month did Husak finally concede in an address to the party Central Committee that the leadership must consider moves toward greater internal democracy, such as secret party elections. Cautiously using words that had been taboo in Prague's political lexicon for 19 years, Husak spoke of the need "for new economic and social mechanisms or, if you like, reforms." He noted that developments in the Soviet Union were "drawing an extraordinary response in the whole Czechoslovak party and people."
Before Gorbachev's arrival, there had been speculation that the Soviet leader would use the visit as an occasion to announce the withdrawal of some of the 80,000 Soviet troops in the country. Gorbachev, however, said nothing about pulling out any of the five divisions Moscow has stationed there since 1968. Instead, in an hourlong talk to Czechoslovak Communist Party and government leaders in Prague's modernistic Palace of Culture, he said the Soviet Union was willing to discuss the reduction of short-range nuclear weapons in Europe.
A month ago Gorbachev announced that the Soviet Union was ready to make an agreement to eliminate medium-range nuclear missiles from Europe. Because the Soviets have a vast superiority in short-range weapons, which are sited in East Germany and Czechoslovakia and can hit targets over distances of up to 600 miles, the initial West European reaction to the Soviet statement was decidedly cool. Last week Gorbachev said Moscow was also ready to discuss a cutback in short-range weapons. The offer was obviously made in preparation for this week's visit to Moscow by U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, and President Reagan later praised the Soviets' "new seriousness" on arms control.
During his Prague speech, Gorbachev strongly criticized the past performance of the Soviet economy and made a strong pitch for his liberalization program. What was needed, he said, was not "small repairs" but a "radical reconstruction." Said Gorbachev: "The phenomenon of stagnation and the problems of the '70s cannot be tolerated anymore."
While standing alongside Husak last week, Gorbachev neatly illustrated the generational and political problems that face all the Soviet satellites in Eastern Europe. Gorbachev can blame his predecessors, especially Brezhnev, for economic stagnation and the resulting political and social ills because, except for a brief period, Gorbachev was not part of the inner circle responsible for the mess. The older Husak, who was installed by Brezhnev , largely to put down changes much like those Gorbachev is promoting, does not have that option. If Husak denounces the bad old days and encourages reforms within his country, he will in effect be denouncing himself and the policies he has followed for years. The same is true of other East European leaders, all of whom owe their positions to Moscow. The reforms that Gorbachev is introducing in the Soviet Union thus may yet have their greatest and most dangerous resonance in Eastern Europe.