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Czechs remain reluctant to forgive Germany for its annexation of its Sudeten territories in 1938 – as a result of the notorious Munich agreement. The information comes in a new poll carried out by the Meridian polling agency. According to figures provided by the organisation, 39% said they are not ready to forgive Germany, 22.7% said they were, while 22.1% said they did not know. However, when broken down by age-group, the results paint a different picture. Of those aged between 55-64, 71% said they could not forgive Germany, while for under-24s, the answer was only 22%. In a separate question, 51.8% of respondents answered that the post-War expulsion of around 3 million Germans from Czechoslovakia was the correct action.

Czechs across the country have been marking St Wenceslas day (officially on Sunday). In the town of Brandys nad Lábem, Cardianl Vlk carried several extremely rare artifacts, including the skull of the Czech patron saint at a special ceremony attended by hundreds of Czechs and also the Czech president. This year marks 1100 years since Saint Wenceslas’s birth.

The opposition has pushed a proposal - aimed at abolishing mandatory health care fees for pensioners and others - through a first reading in the lower house. If passed, the bill will exempt pensioners but also those under the age of 18, as well as some low-income earners. That would mean two-fifths of the population would not have to pay fees which include 30 crowns for each visit to the doctor’s or 60 crowns per day spent in hospital. Some 2 million seniors and roughly the same number of minors would be affected. Exemptions have already been made in some cases, including that of newborns and organ donors. Friday’s bill passed somewhat surprisingly in its first reading with help from coalition MPs Ludvík Hovorka, of the Christian Democrats, and Olga Zubová of the Greens.

The Education Minister Ondřej Liška has suggested that a final decision on a US radar base’s being deployed to the Czech Republic, should only be taken after a NATO summit next spring. Speaking to ČTK (the Czech news agency) on Friday, Mr Liška said the summit would be the first opportunity to decide on integration of the US missile defence system within NATO structures. He made clear that ratification on the deal agreed by Prague and Washington should go ahead in first readings in Parliament, but suggested the final vote could be postponed. Mr Liška has said in the past that he will only back the radar proposal - part of broader US missile defence plans in Europe - if it is integrated within the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.