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The Civic Democratic Party (ODS), Czechia’s largest opposition party, has unveiled the main priorities of its future programme at a policy conference in Prague. The party called for lower taxes on labour, reforms of healthcare and education, and tighter control of public spending. Other proposals include expanding voluntary health insurance, providing schoolchildren with tablets for classroom use, increasing labour market flexibility and creating a national investment fund for infrastructure projects. The party also reaffirmed its commitment to NATO and the European Union while maintaining its opposition to adopting the euro. The new party programme is expected to be finalised by the end of the year.

Hundreds of people gathered in the village of Lidice on Saturday to commemorate the 84th anniversary of one of the worst Nazi atrocities committed in the Czech lands during World War II. Participants, including several surviving Lidice children, laid flowers at the mass grave of the murdered men. Following the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in 1942, Nazi forces executed 173 Lidice men, deported the women to the Ravensbrück concentration camp and murdered most of the village’s children. In total, 340 Lidice residents lost their lives. Memorial director Eduard Stehlík said the tragedy remains a reminder that peace and freedom can never be taken for granted.

Many Czech employees over the age of 50 struggle to combine work with caring for elderly or disabled relatives, with some leaving the labour market altogether, according to a new analysis by the Centre for Economic and Market Analysis (CETA). Nearly half of workers aged 50 to 64 described balancing employment and caregiving as a major challenge, while around one in four working-age caregivers are no longer employed. The study estimates that long-term unemployment among older workers costs the Czech economy around CZK 61 billion annually through lost wages, lower tax revenues and higher public spending, while many older jobseekers find it difficult to return to work.

The 68th edition of the Smetana Litomyšl National Festival opened on Friday with a gala concert by the Czech Philharmonic conducted by American maestro David Robertson. South Korean pianist Cho Seong-jin, one of the festival’s star guests, received a standing ovation and returned for a five-minute encore after performing Beethoven’s “Emperor” Piano Concerto. Running until July 5, the festival will present more than 50 events, including opera, symphonic and chamber music, dance and cross-disciplinary productions. Highlights include the debut of the London Symphony Orchestra, Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel, and a rare concert performance of Bohuslav Martinů’s opera Mariken de Nimègue.