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The new era of freedom saw the rise of Czech culture and relatively free market. The first parliamentary elections in the new state were won by Václav Havel’s Civic Forum. This didn’t last long as people were tired of promises and wanted more radical leadership. The decisions of Slovaks and Czechs were very different. The elections in 1992 favored Václav Klaus and his conservative Civic Democratic Party. On the other hand, the Slovakian winner was Vladimír Mečiar and his nationalist party.
Different views on the country’s future were holding back both governments and the two leaders, Mečiar and Václav Klaus, decided to call it a day. In 1993, Slovaks and Czechs quit their legendary “brotherhood”. The so-called “Velvet Divorce” was peaceful and although president Havel protested against this step and even resigned (to return as president of the newly formed Czech republic for the next eight years), it didn’t lead to bitterness between two newly formed republics.