• Social Democrats tell voters to choose Communists ahead of Civic Democrats
    11/09/2004

    The Social Democrats have called on their supporters to vote against the right wing Civic Democratic Party, even if that means supporting the Communists, in the second round of elections to the Senate next weekend. The Civic Democrats have candidates in run-offs to 25 of 27 constituencies, while the Social Democrats have only three. Social Democrat leader Stanislav Gross said his party's aim was to prevent the Civic Democrats winning a sufficient majority in the Senate to be able to change the Constitution.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Police want to charge Sladek
    11/09/2004

    The police want to charge the former ultra right republican leader Miroslav Sladek with damaging creditors. During his years in office, Sladek indebted the party heavily, although according to the police, he must have known that the party would be unable to meet its obligations. It now owes more than 40 million crowns. If found guilty, Sladek could face up to 5 years in prison.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Czech rock group mark anniversary of fall of Berlin Wall with concert for Cuban opposition
    11/09/2004

    The Czech rock group Prazsky Vyber are playing a special concert in support of Cuba's opposition and to mark the 15th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The group - whose leader Michael Kocab was a dissident and oversaw the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Czechoslovakia - are performing in Florida and the concert is being broadcast to Cuba by the opposition TV station, Marti.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • After 18 games without defeat Sparta Prague beaten by Mlada Boleslav
    11/09/2004

    The leaders of the Czech football league, Sparta Prague, have suffered a shock 1:0 home defeat to Mlada Boleslav, who won promotion to the first division last season. It was Sparta's first loss in 18 games and since the appointment of Frantisek Straka as manager. Sparta are three points ahead of second-placed Teplice.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Civic Democrats call for voter support in 25 of 27 Senate run-offs
    11/08/2004

    The opposition Civic Democrat Party has called on voters to go to the polls in next weekend's second round of elections to the Senate, especially in constituencies in which its candidate is facing a Communist Party opponent. The Civic Democrats have candidates in the run-offs in 25 of 27 constituencies. The party has already won one seat in the Senate, when its candidate took more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round.

    The Civic Democrats also won elections in 12 of the country's 13 regions at the weekend. They are expected to form coalitions with the Christian Democrats on most regional authorities.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Gross not considering resignation after poor showing for Social Democrats
    11/08/2004

    Meanwhile, the leader of the governing Social Democrats, Stanislav Gross, has said he is not considering stepping down, after his party received just 14 percent of the vote in the regional polls.

    Despite that poor showing, an opinion poll conducted by the CVVM agency in October suggests that 40 percent of Czechs "trust" the coalition government led by Mr Gross. In June, when a coalition of the same three parties was led by Vladimir Spidla, just over a quarter of Czechs said they trusted the government.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Unemployment falls below nine percent
    11/08/2004

    Unemployment in the Czech Republic was at 8.9 percent at the end of October, down from 9.1 percent a month earlier, according to figures released by the Labour Ministry on Monday. Mild weather which boosted activity in construction and tourism is credited with the slight fall in the unemployment rate.

    Inflation, meanwhile, rose by 3.5 percent on an annual basis in October, which is the biggest increase since March 2002.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Crown sets new record against US dollar
    11/08/2004

    The Czech crown has set a new record of 24 crowns 18 hellers against the United States dollar. But analysts expect the dollar to strengthen when figures for the US economy are released later in the week.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech, Slovak Armies holding joint exercises
    11/08/2004

    The Czech and Slovak Armies are taking part in joint exercises all this week on the border between the two countries. During "Hranica 2004" soldiers from both countries are being trained to deal with the effects of large-scale industrial disasters.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Right-of centre Civic Democrats earn landslides in regional, Senate elections
    11/07/2004

    The opposition Civic Democrats swept regional and Senate elections in the Czech Republic on Saturday, finishing ahead of both the Communist Party and the ruling Social Democrats in a key electoral test. Out of a possible 675 regional mandates the right-of-centre Civic Democrats secured 291 seats, followed by the Communists with 157, and the Social Democrats with 105.

    The Civic Democrats' exceptional performance means they dominate in 12 of 13 of the country's regions.

    The Civic Democrats were equally convincing in the Senate race where one-third of seats was up for grabs. One Civic Democrat candidate won outright, while a further 20 Civic Democrat candidates hold leads going into the second round to be decided in a week's time.

    In all 26 Senate seats remain to be decided with the Communist Party, the Social Democrats, the Freedom Union, the Christian Democrats also in contention - as well as smaller parties like the European Democrats and the Greens vying to reach the Senate for the first time.
    Author: Jan Velinger

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