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

This old Czech motto reflects the combination of resignation and basic optimism that still characterizes the outlook of Husak's countrymen. Despite past disappointments, hopes persist that Husak will someday reveal himself to be the ultimate practitioner of Schweikism—that, having lulled both the Kremlin and his hardline domestic opponents into dropping their guard, he will shrewdly exploit the logic and imperatives of detente to launch a new round of liberalizing political and economic reforms. But although such a happy eventuality is not beyond the realm of possibility, the prospects for any significant improvement in Czechoslovakia's internal climate in the near future are not bright.

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