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The situation that Husak faced when he took over as Party First Secretary was far from reassuring. The country was suffering from inflation, shortages, and general economic chaos resulting from the beleaguered Dubcek's inability to develop a workable new economic system to replace the discarded centralized controls of the Novotny era. Moreover, the leadership was still bitterly divided, the Czechoslovak people were still indulging in occasional anti-Soviet demonstrations, and the Kremlin had recently renewed threats of direct intervention. It was evident that, at the very minimum, political normalization would require reunification of the party and restoration of the "leading role"; establishment and maintenance of an effective system of control over the country's population and mass social organizations; removal of the disruptive influence of surviving liberal and, in some cases, fundamentally antisocialist elements; and restoration of the confidence of the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact members in the policies of the Czechoslovak Government

Dubcek with his successor, Husak, the night he resigned as party leader

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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110008-5