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08/16/2006
Mirek Topolanek, leader of the right-of-center Civic Democratic Party, has been named the new prime minister designate by President Vaclav Klaus. As expected, the news was made official at Prague Castle on Wednesday afternoon. Mr. Topolanek is now looking to find support for his proposed Civic Democratic minority government, a process he says may take two to three weeks of negotiations. Mr. Topolanek told reporters that talks with the Social Democrats, the Christian Democrats and the Greens will begin immediately, but that the Civic Democrats will not seek support from the Communist Party. Meanwhile, Social Democratic leader, Jiri Paroubek, told reporters that an agreement with the Civic Democrats could be signed by next Wednesday, thus allowing for a new Czech government to take the reins.
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08/16/2006
The way to a new Czech minority government was made possible on Wednesday morning, with the Social Democratic government led by Jiri Paroubek submitting its resignation to President Vaclav Klaus. The unanimous vote came after more than ten weeks of post-election negotiations over the formation of the Czech Republic's next government. A coalition of Social Democrats, the Christian Democrats and the Freedom Union led by Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek was in power for nearly sixteen months.
Now, Mr. Paroubek says that Mirek Topolanek and his Civic Democrats should get a chance to try and govern, but that the Social Democrats prefer to tolerate a new minority government for only two years. Earlier this week, Mr. Paroubek indicated that support for a minority Civic Democratic government would depend on approval of Mr. Topolanek's proposed cabinet, as well as key policy issues like the proposed flat tax, and a national referendum regarding the possible establishment of a US missile defense base on Czech territory.
The current government's ministers will stay in their posts until a new cabinet is formed. As it stands, the country also has two prime ministers, with Jiri Paroubek standing as the acting prime minister until Mirek Topolanek forms a new cabinet.
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08/16/2006
According to a report due to be discussed by the lower house, the Czech presidency of the European Union—set to begin in January 2009—and the necessary preparations will cost the state about 3.3 billion crowns ($151 million USD). Some 480 new civil servants will be employed in connection with the presidency, and language training for them is included in the proposed budget. The Czech Republic will preside over the EU in partnership with Sweden and France, with each country leading the team effort for six months; Prague will be at the helm from January to June 2009.
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08/16/2006
Antonin Sum, the personal secretary of the post-WWII Foreign Minister, Jan Masaryk, passed away in Prague on Tuesday at the age of 87. Born in 1919, Mr. Sum participated in the WWII resistance to Nazi Germany, and became secretary to Jan Masaryk in 1947. Mr. Sum was sentenced to 20 years in communist prisons, and after the fall of communism in 1989, he wrote a number of books and articles about Jan Masaryk, son of the founding President of Czechoslovakia, Tomas G. Masaryk. In 2003, Antonin Sum was awarded the Order of Tomas Garrigue Masaryk.
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08/16/2006
After last week's intensified security measures at airports in the United Kingdom following the unveiling of a terrorist plot, more than 5000 pieces of luggage did not make it onto planes in London, some of these belonging to Czech travelers. Passengers on flights from London to Prague have thus been without their baggage for several days, and now British Airways is sending more than 2000 pieces of luggage to continental Europe via long-haul trucks. The luggage should arrive in Prague late Wednesday.
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08/16/2006
Brno's Masaryk University has developed a new computer software program to combat plagiarism. The first of its kind in the Czech Republic, the software is modeled on those used at universities in North America. The system will be accessible to both staff and students at Masaryk University, though it is expected that university instructors will make the most use of the new tool.
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08/16/2006
Czech tennis star Nicole Vaidisova has advanced at the Rogers Cup in Montreal, moving past her co-national, Lucie Safarova with a score of 3:6, 7:5, 6:1. After losing in the first set, Vaidisova regained her composure and now awaits her third-round singles match on Thursday.
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08/15/2006
The outgoing Social Democrat government will resign on Wednesday, clearing the way for a new administration. Deputy-prime minister Zdenek Skromach made the announcement after the lower chamber elected a new leadership on Monday, ending ten weeks of deadlock. Once the cabinet of Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek has resigned, President Vaclav Klaus is expected to appoint the head of the winning party Civic Democrat Mirek Topolanek prime minister designate, giving him a shot at winning support for a minority Civic Democrat government.
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08/15/2006
Social Democrat leader Jiri Paroubek has indicated that his party may support a minority Civic Democrat government with a limited mandate of two years or just a few months until the state budget for 2007 has been passed. Speaking to journalists, Mr. Paroubek made it clear that he was not entirely happy with the way talks were going and hinted that his party's support for a minority Civic Democrat government was far from certain. The Social Democrat leader has made it clear that he expects to approve the entire government line-up, not just the unaffiliated experts in the minority cabinet. After rejecting the suggestion outright on Monday, Civic Democrat leader Mirek Topolanek, backed down and agreed to discuss the names of all ministerial candidates. He is still pushing for a full four-year term in office.
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08/15/2006
The outgoing prime minister, Jiri Paroubek, has said he expects the Czech Republic to actively participate in the UN mission in Lebanon. Speaking to journalists Mr. Paroubek said this had not been officially approved but that he was "counting on" Czech participation. Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda was more cautious saying that given the country's participation in peace missions in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq, the Czech Republic had come close to exceeding its capacity. UN resolution 1701 gives a mandate for an expanded UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) which is to be made up of some 15,000 international troops.
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