New pro-Klaus Eurosceptic party may be on horizon

Lively discussions are underway with regards to the creation of a new Eurosceptic political party, reports the daily Lidové Noviny. According to the paper, the new party could be ready to field candidates in elections to the European Parliament next June. The party would reportedly be comprised of allies and supporters of the Czech president Václav Klaus, and would be called Libertas.cz. This name would effectively make the party a wing of the Irish lobby group of the same name that campaigned successfully for a “no” vote in a referendum in June on whether to accept the Lisbon Treaty. The Civic Democrat-led Czech government supports the treaty and would like to see it passed during its upcoming EU presidency. Speaking to Lidové Noviny, the Civic Democrat leader and Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek conceded that the formation of such a party – essentially a Civic Democrat splinter faction, was inevitable. The Civic Democrats were formed by President Klaus, who is the party’s honorary chairman.