Disappointment in Prague

A large crowd had gathered around Prague's ancient Hradeany Castle, clearly hoping to witness the beginning of the downfall of their Communist boss.

Inside the castle's vast Gothic Vladislav Hall, 294 Deputies of the tame Communist Parliament were gathered to elect a new President. For weeks there had been hints that dour Antonin Novotny, 59, who for seven years has been both President and Communist Party chief, might lose the presidency, possibly as the first step to complete oblivion. Once a Stalinist who survived by ruthlessly killing off his rivals, Novotny had become a slavish follower of the deposed Nikita Khrushchev. During the recent Moscow ceremonies celebrating the anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, Novotny was noticeably absent from the Communist lineup atop Lenin's Tomb.

But when the Prague parliamentary session ended and the castle's great glass doors swung open, it was Novotny who stepped out on the balcony, having been "unanimously re-elected" for a new five-year term. He had survived once again, obviously having persuaded his critics that this was no moment for another Communist shakeup.

Capitalist Magic. The crowd outside the castle faced Novotny in grim silence -- and with good reason. Under Novotny's inflexible, inept rule, potentially rich Czechoslovakia has suffered a continuous economic crisis. Industrial production has fallen, productivity has stagnated, and last week the official news agency blandly conceded that Czechoslovakia would be compelled to buy 2,200,000 tons of grain abroad be cause of a disastrous domestic harvest.

Such dismal conditions have forced Communist planners to resort to that old capitalist magic, the profit motive.

In its latest decrees, the government encourages factories that show a profit to reward workers with pay boosts and bonuses, while enterprises running a deficit will have to lower wages to bring them in line with productivity.

By year's end 162 hopelessly inefficient factories employing 60,000 workers are to be closed down. In another concession to free enterprise, the government is permitting barbers, tailors, shoemakers, locksmiths and other small entrepreneurs to open private shops.

Old Party Hacks. Like Khrushchev and his successors, Czechoslovakia's young Communist technocrats led by Economics Professor Ota Sik, 45, are apparently more concerned with increasing production than with Marxist dogma. But while the reformers have sold their economic approach to the party's Central Committee, they have not been able to bring about a change in the regime's power structure.

Implementing the liberalized economic program will be difficult while Novotny remains in charge, determined to protect the old party hacks who are running most of Czechoslovakia's economy. As Novotny explained not long ago: There is no need to fire an "old comrade" just because he can't count.

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