News

Traditional Christmas-time market stalls have opened up for the first time this season. The most prominent stalls in Prague’s Old Town Square have become a permanent seasonal fixture, selling anything from mulled wine, to honey liquor as well as numerous nick-nacks for tourists.

In related news, highly-placed Civic Democrat Přemysl Sobotka, the Senate chairman, said on Friday that support by the president for another party would be a “betrayal”. He also suggested that such a move by Mr Klaus would be a repudiation of his past efforts as a politician. By contrast, Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek said on Friday that he would respect the president’s decision if Mr Klaus decided to leave the Civic Democratic Party. He also said he understood Mr Klaus's words that he might leave for another party as "confirmation" the president would not be attending the Civic Democrats' congress.

Also in the news, the Czech media reported on Friday that the president’s son, Václav Klaus, jr, has already left Civic Democrat ranks, apparently disillusioned with a Prague chapter's backing of current party leader Mirek Topolánek.

The Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg has apologised for a Czech magazine article published Thursday quoting a private meeting last month between Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. In a written statement, the minister said that he felt personally responsible, and said that someone at the foreign ministry had made a mistake. The Czech ambassador to France, who was at the meeting, has also suggested the article was misleading - saying he didn’t recognise its contents. The transcript from the meeting, revealing political horse-trading between the French president and the Czech prime minister, was published by the Czech weekly Reflex. The weekly says it received a recording of the talks from a reliable source and says it is standing by its story.

EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner met with Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg on Friday to discuss the upcoming EU presidency, saying the Czech Republic faced numerous tasks in international relations over its six-month tenure. The commissioner outlined the country’s importance in partnership with countries including Ukraine, Georgia, Moldavia and others. She also said it would be up to the Czech presidency to establish contact with the new US President Barack Obama after he took office. Czech officials had indicated earlier they would aim for a meeting between Mr Obama and EU leaders in the Czech capital next spring, but no official word has been given yet.