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11/14/2006
President Klaus is to meet with Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek on Wednesday to discuss an emerging agreement on a new government. There was a breakthrough in talks on Monday when the leaders of the two strongest parties on the Czech political scene each made concessions in order to facilitate an agreement. Mirek Topolanek, leader of the centre right Civic Democrats, dropped his demand for early elections in 2007, while Social Democrat leader Jiri Paroubek no longer insists on a two party agreement and is willing to discuss a government of four parties in which he himself would have no part.
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11/14/2006
The Civic Democrat Party leadership has said serious talks on a new government will have to wait until after the party's national conference this weekend. Although Mirek Topolanek has strong backing within the party, and is likely to be re-elected leader, there are conflicting opinions on the length of the future government's mandate and the timing of the next general elections. Party leader Topolanek said on Tuesday that he was not ruling out elections in 2009, but only on condition that the government would have a reform program.
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11/14/2006
Four candidates have been nominated for the post of Ombudsman to replace Otakar Motejl whose term in office expires in December. Mr. Motejl is up for re-appointment for another six year term. The other nominees are the former rector of the Czech Technical University in Prague Jiri Witzany, human rights activist John Bok and senator Jitka Seitlova. The Ombudsman is elected by the lower house from candidates put forward by the president and the Senate.
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11/14/2006
Seven EU newcomers have urged the European Commission not to postpone their entry to the Schengen border-free zone. The Visegrad Four - of which the Czech Republic is a member - and the three Baltic states called on the European Commission to honor the original agreement and extend the Schengen area by October 2007. The European Commission said recently that a postponement by up to a year seemed inevitable because of technical problems involving the setting up of a new police database. The seven newcomers said they were ready to assume all obligations which stem from being a part of the Schengen area and have urged the European Commission to consider a compromise proposal submitted by Portugal which would enable enlargement to take place as planned.
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11/14/2006
Czech airline CSA said Tuesday its after-tax loss narrowed to 324 million crowns (14.81 million dollars) in the first nine months of the year from 773 million in the same period of 2005. The airline, around 91 percent owned by the state, said it expected to post a full-year loss of around 500 million crowns, the same as 2005. CSA's president, Radomir Lasak, said the airline was battling higher wage costs and payments for new aircraft.The airline is hoping to return to profit in 2008 following a sweeping restructuring decided by its current management, which has been in place since the start of the year.
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11/13/2006
Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek - the leader of the right-of-centre Civic Democrats - has announced that his party is no longer favouring early elections as a way out of the continuing political stalemate that followed inconclusive elections in June. Mr Topolanek made the announcement at a joint press conference with the Social Democrats' Jiri Paroubek on Monday. The Civic Democrats leaders' decision is a marked change in course: until now Mr Topolanek has pushed strongly for early elections in 2007 as the only viable way out of the deadlock. In his statement on Monday Mr Topolanek said he would be seeking a stable solution, a government that could rule until after the Czech Republic holds the rotating EU presidency in 2009.
As for the make-up of the new government, Mr Topolanek has proposed a rainbow coalition excluding only the communists.
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11/13/2006
The leader of the Social Democrats Jiri Paroubek has admitted that early elections in 2007 - originally a requirement pushed by the Civic Democrats - would be "a catastrophe". Mr Paroubek made the statement for the Czech daily Pravo and the CTK news agency on Monday after talks between the two parties. Later, Mr Paroubek backtracked from his original statement somewhat, saying that if elections were held next year his party would not achieve an "optimal result". A public opinion survey released last week has suggested if a national election were held at this time the Social Democrats would clinch just 60 seats in the lower house compared to the Civic Democrats' 96.
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11/13/2006
In related news, the Green Party is not likely to back anything other than an interim government with a mandate at latest until 2008. The head of the Greens Martin Bursik, meeting with Prime Minister Topolanek also on Monday, said that his party would continue to back early elections as a first priority. The Greens would also like the government to be made up primarily of experts.
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11/13/2006
Outgoing Health Minister Tomas Julinek has warned that hospital debts and debts of other medical facilities could grow in 2007 as a result of the new labour code, set to come into effect in January. According to the minister, the new code will entail spending not considered in the Health Ministry's budget, a difference of 2 billion crowns. Previously, the outgoing Civic Democrat recommended postponing the validity of the new labour code, sparking protest from trade unions expected to hold a rally in support of the legislation later this month.
On Monday, outgoing Minister for Labour and Social Affairs Minister Petr Necas the code was likely to come into effect on January 1st; given the balance of mandates in the lower house it is unlikely that the Civic Democrats will be able to postpone its coming into effect.
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11/13/2006
A military counter-intelligence spokesman has revealed that the elite Czech reconnaissance unit completing its six-month mission has returned from Afghanistan. The unit took part in the anti-terrorism mission "Enduring Freedom" for the second time in the last two years, helping to search for al Qaeda and Taleban fighters in that country's mountainous regions.
The unit's commander Ondrej Palenik has been quoted as saying he considered it crucial that the more than one hundred members of the contingent had now returned home having fulfilled their duties.
At present, 82 Czech troops are deployed in a reconstruction team within NATO's ISAF mission and 18 troops operate at Kabul airport as part of ISAF. Next year, up to 90 new Czech soldiers are to leave for Kabul to take charge of the airport's operation for four months.
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