Daily news summary
Communist Party will continue to support minority government
The Communist Party will continue to support the minority government of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, despite mounting opposition to him in the wake of a preliminary EU audit stating that he has a conflict of interest, party leader Vojtěch Filip told journalists after the party’s policy program conference on Saturday.
In a vote at the conference, 200 out of the 260 delegates present voted in favour of continued support for the coalition government of ANO and the Social Democrats.
The party leadership will meet in July to assess the benefits of this support in terms of the extent to which the minority government is fulfilling the agreed on policy program priorities.
Czech PM tells Globsec Forum Czechia is ideal place for foreign investors
Speaking at the annual Globsec Forum on security, foreign policy and business in Bratislava, Prime Minister Andrej Babis praised the Czech Republic as a successful, innovative and safe country which offers numerous opportunities for foreign investors.
He recalled the country’s reputation in the years of the First Republic when it had been an industrial leader and said that today Czechs were proving their skills once again and had a great deal to offer in many fields.
The Czech prime minister dismissed the street protests against him, saying they were fuelled by those who were dissatisfied with the outcome of the last elections.
Government ministers agree on financing for social services
The Finance Ministry and the Ministry of Social Affairs have reached agreement on the source of two billion crowns needed for the social sphere.
The ministries will each provide half a billion from their own reserves and the rest should be covered by EU funds where the Czech Republic can draw 1.5 billion over the next three years.
The resolution of the drawn-out dispute over where the money should come from and whether it would be made available was greeted with relief by the social services which feared they might have to let go as many as 10,000 social workers if the money was not provided.
The overall budget for social services this year is close to 16 billion crowns. The annual expenditures are expected to grow as the population ages.
Czech Catholic Church has no plans to change Lord’s Prayer
The Catholic Church in the Czech Republic has no immediate plans to change the wording of the Lord’s Prayer as it was approved by the Roman Catholic Church in Italy at the instigation of Pope Francis.
The Archbishop of Prague, Cardinal Dominik Duka, said that while there was a logic to the Pope’s arguments, it would be extremely difficult to change such a deeply ingrained text in believers’ minds, hymns and liturgies.
In line with the change, which has been made in Italian and French, the prayer will no longer say “lead us not into temptation”, but “do not let us fall into temptation”.
Museum Night kicks off in 52 Prague museums and galleries
The annual Festival of Museum Nights, which opened in the West Bohemian spa town of Karlovy Vary in mid- May, will culminate in Prague on Saturday June 8th. The city’s 52 museums and galleries will be open to the public between 7pm and 1 am, offering visitors special programs including lectures, film-screenings, art competitions and concerts.
Prague city transport has extended tram and bus operations into the early hours in order to accommodate visitors. In the course of the last three weeks over 500 museums and cultural institutions in 158 towns and cities opened their doors to the public on a selected night.
Vondroušová loses to Barty at Roland Garros
Czech Marketa Vondroušvá’s hopes of winning the French Open women’s singles title were dashed by Australia’s Ashleigh Barty who beat the Czech hopeful in straight sets 6:1,6:3 at Roland Garros on Saturday.
The 19-year-old Vondroušová, who became the first teenager to reach a final at Roland Garros since Serbia's Ana Ivanovic in 2007, won six matches without losing a set, until the final with Barty. Even so, her performance at Roland Garros has been hailed as a big success, moving her to 16 place on the ATP ladder.
Barty had words of praise for her rival after the match saying “Marketa's had an amazing season, she's just starting her climb. She's going to be in many more grand-slam finals. It was really nice to play her today.”
Weather forecast
Sunday should be a warm day with clear to partly cloudy skies and day temperatures between 24 and 28 degrees Celsius.
