News

The introduction of a long-anticipated scrap car incentive appears unlikely, as the Social Democratic Party has withdrawn support for it. Speaking on Czech Television on Sunday, shadow finance minister Bohuslav Sobotka said there was no pressing rationale for implementing the scheme if positive developments on the automobile market continue. The Automobile Industry Association was not happy with the statement, however. The association’s director Antonín Šípek said the party’s stance showed a misunderstanding of the purpose of the incentive, which he said was originally introduced elsewhere to get environmentally unfriendly and unsafe automobiles off the roads, rather than to stimulate the economy.

The tradition of the pig slaughter in the Czech Republic has declined precipitously in the last ten years, as reported by the Czech Press Agency. While 75,000 tonnes of pork went towards pig slaughters in the year 2000, only a third of that, 25,000 tonnes was slaughtered in 2008. According to the Association of Czech Meat Processors, the decline is due to the more favourable prices of pre-processed pork in supermarkets today and the greater number of restaurants that offer the kinds of food items traditionally prepared in slaughters. Concerns that the EU would ban home pig slaughtering were allayed in September, when the European Council passed a measure permitting the practice and instating stronger regulations against animal cruelty.

A 27-metre spruce was felled Sunday and taken to Prague to become the Christmas tree in Old Town Square. The tree was chosen from the Krkonoš Mountains as it has been for the last six years. This year however was the first that the tree was taken from a location accessible to onlookers, and several dozen people attended the cutting. The historic square’s Christmas tree is carefully selected each year; this year’s spruce, which stood on the bank of the Elbe River, was scheduled for felling regardless of Christmas due to concerns that a flood could bring it down on a nearby bridge.

Members of the Civic Democratic Party have voted against holding a vote of confidence on chairman Mirek Topolánek at the party’s 20th conference. In-party opponents of the chairman and former prime minister were soundly defeated in the vote by a margin of almost three to one. A vote to cast secret ballots was also rejected. Mr Topolánek faced heavy criticism from speakers at the convention, among other things for resigning his parliamentary mandate in September to protest a failed vote to dissolve Parliament for early elections. In an hour-long opening speech, the party chairman emphasised his view that a change of leadership would mean sure victory for the party’s main rivals, the Social Democrats, in elections scheduled for mid-2010. He also promised that he would step down as party chairman should the Civic Democrats lose that election.