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Jiří Paroubek was re-elected the leader of the opposition Social Democrats at the party’s convention in Prague on Saturday. The former prime minister, who faced no other candidate, received 74 percent of votes. The three-day party congress also elected five deputy leaders, including shadow foreign minister Lubomír Zaorálek and Brno mayor Roman Onderka.

One of the main speakers at the convention on Saturday was Slovak PM Robert Fico. He said that social democrats have to focus on defending the concept of social state and reject solutions offered by right wing parties. On Friday, Czech President Václav Klaus appeared at the Social Democrat congress for the first time ever. His speech was closely-watched, as it came days ahead of a key no-confidence vote on the current government. The president declined to comment the upcoming vote, but suggested that during the period of economic crisis political parties needed to display extra responsibility in the interests of the country.

The far-right Workers’ Party founded its youth group at a congress in Brno on Saturday. The aims of the group include the nationalization of the Czech education system, the support of traditional families and a general ban on drugs. The Workers’ Party youth group currently has around 100 members, most of them from Prague.

The small far- right Workers’ Party made headlines last year when its sympathizers attempted to march in a Romany ghetto in northern Bohemia. In January, the Supreme Administrative Court rejected the government’s petition to ban the party.

Exports of Czech beer rose to 3.7 million hectolitres in 2008, which was some 100,000 hectolitres more than in the previous year, according to estimates by the Czech Beer and Malt Association. The total production in the same period decreased however by some 100,000 hectolitres to 19.8 million hectolitres. Exports of the largest Czech brewery, Pislner Urquell, were up by more than four percent last year.

The Czech Education Ministry has ordered six private Czech higher-education facilities to drop the word “university” from their English versions of their names and use the term “college” instead. A ministry spokesperson said legal action would be taken of necessary. According to the ministry, only facilities accredited as universities under the Czech law can use the term “university” in their English names. Some of the education facilities, including the Prague-based Anglo-American University, protest the order; Canadian and US embassies in Prague confirmed their claims.