Page:NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SURVEY 18; CZECHOSLOVAKIA; GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110010-2.pdf/31

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110010-2

FIGURE 10. Organization of the Czechoslovak Communist Party apparatus (C)

As a collective body, the congress elects the Central Committee, hears the reports from the various party committees, and reaffirms general party policy. An extraordinary congress may be called by a vote of one-third of the members of the Central Committee.

The Central Committee has the assigned task of directing the work of the party between congresses and of organizing and supervising the executive agencies of the KSC, including its own 11 administrative departments. It promulgates directives on the implementation of party policies. It also appoints chief editors of the party's central press and maintains central funds. The Central Committee is comprised primarily of technicians and "apparatchiki" (plant managers, party functionaries, and bureaucrats). The size of the Central Committee varies, often reflecting the needs and policies of the party leadership. The 14th Party Congress elected 115 members and 45 candidate members. Candidate members normally attend plenary sessions but do not have the right to vote. Party statutes require the Central Committee to hold plenary sessions at least once every 4 months and to report on its work to the lower party organs. In exercising party supervision of government programs the Central Committee operates through 11 departments:

Agriculture

Economy

Education, Science, and Culture

Elected State Organizations

Ideology

Industry, Transportation, and Communications

Internal Affairs

Organizations and Politics

Press, Radio, and Television

Social Organizations

State Administration

The ruling body of the KSC is the Presidium, a group of 11 members and 2 nonvoting candidate members who determine the policies and tactics of the party. The Presidium exercises authority over the Central Committee, which formally "elects" it. In actuality, the composition of the Presidium is determined by the Party General Secretary, or, as in more recent years, by the Presidium itself. The Presidium is not enjoined to report its activities to any other party or state body, including the Central Committee. Moreover, there is no direct electoral relationship, even theoretically, between the rank-and-file and the Presidium.

The Secretariat is the administrative arm of the Presidium and the only other party body with considerable authority. Its activity, however, is restricted to the implementation of politics and is subject to review by the Presidium. Nevertheless, its powers which embrace the direction of day-to-day party work in all spheres, are very extensive. The leadership of the KSC as of 1973 is shown in Figure 11.

The Secretariat is headed by the Party General Secretary, who presides over and directs the work of the six additional secretaries and two other members of the Secretariat. Collectively, they supervise the work of the secretaries on the lower party levels. Separately, they keep a careful check on the activities and attitudes of government and public agencies operating in their assigned fields of interest.

Under Novotny, the predominant force in the party leadership was a handful of doctrinaire party politicians, who were primarily specialists interested in gaining and wielding power rather than in developing expertise in functional areas such as government, international relations, or economics. This model was abruptly abolished by Dubcek who installed leaders with technical qualifications to cope with the country's major economic and social problems. The

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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110010-2