Bursík elected chairman of new environmental party

Former environment minister Martin Bursík was elected chairman of LES (meaning ‘forest’ in Czech and an acronym for the Liberal Ecological Party) a new party founded last autumn focussing on environmental issues. Mr Bursík faced no challengers and received backing from all 74 delegates present. Mr Bursík headed the Green Party from 2005-2009, and was part of the former centre-right government led by Mirek Topolánek. The new party has attracted a number of well-known figures, among them pop lyricist and businessman Michal Horáček, a co-author of the party’s programme, and documentary filmmaker Olga Sommerová, elected one of the party’s deputy chairs.