• 09/23/2024

    Soon after the closing of polling stations in the regional elections, which saw opposition ANO Party as the dominant force, coalition agreements have been finalized in three regions. In South Moravia, the winning coalition comprising Civic Democratic Party, Christian Democrats, and TOP 09 quickly reached an agreement with Mayors and Independents, ensuring that Jan Grolich from Christian Dmocrats will remain as governor. Similar agreements were reached in Pardubice and Plzeňský Regions, with negotiations in other parts of the country ongoing.

    Author: Vít Pohanka
  • 09/23/2024

    The leadership of the Pirate Party, which is part of the ruling coalition, has resigned in the wake of the party’s dismal showing in the elections. Party leader Ivan Bartoš announced their decision following a late-night meeting on Sunday evening. The party is to select a new leadership at a party conference on 9 November. Long-time chairman Ivan Bartoš will not run for re-election. Prime Minister Petr Fiala has said he respects the decision and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Bartoš to discuss the consequences.

    The Pirate Party suffered the biggest defeat of all the ruling parties in the regional elections, losing 96 regional councilors and securing only three seats in the Pilsen Region.

  • 09/23/2024

    President Petr Pavel is starting a week-long working visit to the United States. The Czech head of state will attend the 79th session of the UN General Assembly where he is expected to make a speech focusing on continued support for Ukraine, UN reform and the Czech Republic's efforts to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2032 and 2033. The president will also travel to Chicago, Illinois, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he is to meet with members of the Czech expat community.

  • 09/22/2024

    Czech President Petr Pavel has said that the results of the regional elections are a signal to the government regarding which regions it should pay more attention to ahead of next year's general elections. Asked to comment on the outcome of the elections by the CTK news agency, Mr. Pavel said that the elections should not be taken as a referendum on the government, because they revolve around regional issues and moreover Prague did not take part in the vote which tends to distort the big picture when it cames to support for the ruling coalition. The president said it was too early to make a comprehensive assessment, since regional coalitions are still being put together.

  • 09/22/2024

    Ukraine has provided the Czech Republic with a shipment of 40 dryers to help in the clean-up effort of the flooded regions, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský said on the X network on Sunday. According to the Czech foreign minister diplomats from the Consulate General in Lviv are transporting them to the Czech border from where they will be taken to the firefighters' warehouse in Hlučín.

    The European Commission said on Friday that hundreds of dryers are being sent to Czechia, through the EU's civil protection system, by Slovenia, Belgium, Croatia and Germany.

    EC President Von der Leyen said earlier this week that 10 billion euros would be made available from EU cohesion funds to Czechia, Slovakia, Poland and Austria which all experienced severe flooding. Two billion euros should fall to the Czech Republic.

  • 09/22/2024

    The flood-ravaged town of Bohumín in the Karviná region is asking the government for help in dealing with the problems brought on by the floods. Electricity supplies from the flooded power station in Pudlov has been restored, but the town is not able to supply heat and hot water to thousands of  inhabitants and the authorities fear they will not able to resolve the problem before the onset of cold weather. Two thirds of the town’s heat and water boiler facilities are reported to have been completely destroyed by the floods.

  • 09/22/2024

    Monday should be clear to partly cloudy with daytime highs between 19 and 23 degrees Celsius.

  • 09/22/2024

    Just over half of Czechs (53 %) are dissatisfied with the current government of Petro Fiala and would welcome its demise, according to the results of a flash poll conducted by Data Collect for Czech Television. Fifty-three percent of respondents would like to see the government resign or fall, and 51 percent would welcome a cabinet re-shuffle. Some 68 percent of respondents think that the results of the regional elections should be reflected in national politics. And 59 percent would also like to see regional elections draw more attention to regional issues.

  • 09/22/2024

    Martin Kuba, the highly popular governor of South Bohemia, who secured the Civic Democratic Party’s victory in the region, has stressed that his victory cannot be ascribed to party politics and criticized the Civic Democrats’  "anti-Babiš" strategy in campaigning. In an interview for Novinky.cz, the South Bohemian governor indirectly criticized Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s leadership of the party, saying that the Civic Democrats could not present as a success the fact that they could by-pass the winner of the elections in some regions and arguing that the party’s "anti-Babiš" strategy in the elections lacked content. “We built our campaign around what South Bohemians are interested in and we got votes from people who would never vote for the Civic Democrats” Kuba said. He said that politics should not be done "against" something, but "for" something. Commentators suggest that Kuba is a serious rival for party leader Petr Fiala.

  • 09/22/2024

    The Pardubice Region has already announced an agreement on a coalition government in the region for the next four years, the CTK news agency reported early on Sunday. It will be governed by a coalition of Martin Netolický’s 3PK regional grouping, ANO, the Civic Democrats, TOP 09 and the Coalition for the Pardubice Region. Under the agreement, Martin Netolický should remain the Pardubice regional governor.

    In other regions, talks are only just getting underway. The ANO party which secured a resounding victory in the elections will be able to govern alone in 3 regions. However, similarly as in the last elections, it may see efforts to by-pass it in other regions.

    Martin Kuba, the highly popular governor of South Bohemia, who secured the Civic Democratic Party’s victory in the region, won by such a wide margin that he does not need to look for a coalition partner.

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