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09/09/2009
Police have charged one person with defamation and hate crimes over election commercials run by a right-wing extremist party on Czech Television earlier this year. The commercial, which offered a “final solution to the Gypsy question” ahead of elections to the European Parliament in May, was broadcast once on Czech Television before it was pulled and criminal charges were filed against the party. The accused faces from six months to three years of prison if convicted.
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09/09/2009
The ceremonial opening of the new National Technical Library in Prague’s Dejvice district took place on Wednesday. The six-story design, which proudly displays its own dimensions on its facade, provides room for nearly two million books, 250 public computers and a large cafe. The library expects annually up to 900,000 visitors who its director says should feel free to use the building “as a source of information, or as their own second living room”. The building received the prize of the Club for Ancient Prague for best modern building in an historic locale.
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09/09/2009
A poll conducted by the Centre for Analysis and Empirical Research suggests that 81% of Czechs believe their politicians abuse the constitution to promote their own partisan and personal interests. The results of the survey also indicate that a majority of people are in favour of adhering to October elections in spite of questions over whether that date could lead to the elections results being disputed. 46% of respondents did not consider the current situation a “constitutional crisis”.
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09/09/2009
The Czech Republic’s gross domestic product fell by 5.5 percent year on year in the second quarter of 2009, according to revised government figures released on Tuesday. That is the largest quarterly decrease year-on-year in the country’s history, and one percentage point higher than a forecast from the Czech central bank. But the economy has also shown some slight signs of recovery, as it rose by 0.1 percent compared to the first quarter of this year. The biggest factor behind the plunge is the decrease in manufacturing industry output, which fell by 12.8 percent. Analysts believe that increased government spending in the second quarter of 2009 prevented an even greater fall in GDP.
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09/09/2009
In related news, the unemployment rate in the Czech Republic rose to 8.5 percent in August, which is the highest rate in over three years. Last August, the jobless rate was at 5.3 percent. In total, there are more than 480,000 people out of work in the country, according to data released by the government on Tuesday. The areas hit worst by the rising unemployment include the north Bohemian district of Most with over 16 percent and the northern Moravian district of Karviná with almost 15 percent. The lowest number of unemployed was registered in Prague, with 3.4 percent.
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09/09/2009
The lower house of the Czech Parliament revived at its session on Tuesday a Senate bill to amend the constitution and bring about early elections. MPs also shortened the procedure so that the amendment can be approved on the second day of the session. Under the new provision, the president would dissolve the Chamber of Deputies if requested by three fifths of MPs.
The Constitutional Court decided last week to postpone early general elections over a complaint from an independent MP. If it rejects the petition in a public hearing on Thursday, the elections will be held on October 9 and 10, as originally planned.
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09/09/2009
The Czech Republic and the Principality of Liechtenstein have established diplomatic relations. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout and his Liechtenstein counterpart, Aurelie Frick, signed a joint memorandum to that end in Prague on Tuesday. The two countries had not recognized each other over a dispute concerning the post WWII confiscation of property of the Liechtenstein family in former Czechoslovakia, particularly in Moravia. The country disowned property of almost all ethnic Germans but the principality argued that members of the family were Liechtenstein citizens. However, Ms Frick told reporters her country’s recognition of the Czech Republic did not mean the Liechtenstein family would drop its property claims. The Czech Foreign Ministry said that the only remaining two countries with which Prague has no diplomatic relations with are Bhutan and the Marshall Islands.
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09/07/2009
Leaders of Czech political parties and the heads of both chambers of Parliament agreed on Sunday on a means of holding early general elections. The plan calls for the passage of a constitutional amendment that would allow the Chamber of Deputies to dissolve itself. Experts nominated by the parties are to finalize the details on Monday and agree on a date when the elections can be held. Most parties believe the early elections could be held in early November. The Constitutional Court decided last week to postpone elections due to a complaint from unaffiliated MP Miloš Melčák. He claims the constitutional amendment by which the Chamber of Deputies shortened its term violated his right to execute his mandate for four years.
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09/07/2009
The daily Mladá Fronta Dnes has reported that the two Russian diplomats recently deported from the Czech Republic for espionage were not primarily interested in the proposed American radar base, but in the local energy industry. Citing unnamed economists, security experts and diplomats, the paper wrote that the alleged “sleeper cells” were focusing on increasing Russian influence over the natural gas and atomic energy industries in the Czech Republic. Official sources have not commented on the matter.
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09/07/2009
The Romani civic association Sdružení has endorsed the re-election of Chomutov mayor Ivana Řápková. The association’s chairman, František Kolář, said that as a Romani himself and someone who has been dealing with Romani issues his whole life, he identifies completely with the mayor’s objectives. Ms Řápková, a member of the Civic Democratic Party, sparked a high-profile row with Human Rights Minister Michael Kocáb earlier this year after implementing a controversial system of debt reclamation, sending collectors after defaulters immediately after they receive state benefits. The Sdružení association’s chairman has also appeared on billboards reading “Less Kocábs and more Řápákovás”.
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