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12/13/2007
Economist Jan Svejnar, the man who is expected to be president Klaus’ sole rival in the February presidential elections, has collected signatures from ten senators confirming their willingness to officially propose him as a presidential candidate. Professor Jan Svejnar has dual Czech-American citizenship and lives alternately in Michigan and Prague. He has been testing the ground to ascertain how much support he would receive across the political spectrum and has not as yet officially confirmed his candidacy.
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12/13/2007
Lingering uncertainty about the Czech Republic’s euro adoption timetable has prompted the country’s Central Bank to increase its production of crown coins. The original plan was to adopt the euro in 2010 but a huge fiscal deficit and unfinished pension and health reforms have led the government to postpone the target date for euro adoption indefinitely. The slippage in the euro schedule made the bank change tack, boosting the production of coins in various denominations.
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12/13/2007
Pope Benedict XVI will not be visiting the Czech Republic next year on the occasion of the 1100 birth anniversary of St. Wenceslas, the Czech patron saint. An invitation was extended by Jan Graubner, head of the Czech Bishops Conference, but the Vatican said the Pope already had a full schedule that year.
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12/13/2007
Prague’s Archa Theatre has announced that it will be premiering ex-president Vaclav Havel’s play “Leaving” in May of next year. After a wrangle over which Prague theatre would get the honour of presenting Mr. Havel’s first play in more than 18 years it seemed that finding a stage for it would not be easy. Talks with the National Theatre collapsed over Mr. Havel’s insistence that his actress wife Dagmar should get the main role. And earlier today the Na Vinohradech theatre backed out saying that its limited finances would not allow it to fulfill the technical and budgetary demands of the play’s director. It now appears that Archa Teatre has saved the day.
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12/13/2007
A live newborn baby which was found in a garbage can early on Thursday morning and rushed to intensive care is said to be out of danger. Doctors said the baby boy had been brought in with severe hypothermia, a head injury and bruises. The baby’s life was saved at the eleventh hour by a homeless man who found him in the garbage can. Although the baby was reportedly carried full term and born healthy doctors say they cannot rule out permanent damage. There are five baby boxes operating in the Czech Republic where people can leave unwanted newborns. Another three are to be set up next year.
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12/13/2007
As of next year inmates in Czech prisons will not be able to refuse work for municipalities and regions. An amendment to the penal code, signed by President Klaus on Thursday, aims to increase the number of employed prisoners in the Czech Republic. According to the current law, persons serving prison sentences are only obliged to work for the state. However, prisons and other state organisations do not have enough jobs available for inmates. The amended law is expected to increase the interest of municipalities and regions in employing prisoners.
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12/12/2007
The Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek says Czech firms will be able to cope with the current strength of the crown. In an interview with Reuters, he said that the increase in the crown’s value helped offset high energy prices, and added that companies would be able to cope with a gradual rise in the Czech currency’s value. He said that despite entrepreneurs’ complaints, the trade balance was still ‘positive’ and that the Czech Republic was still able to export, even under worsened conditions.
The crown reached an all-time high of 25.93 to the euro earlier this week. The currency has gained 5.8% against the euro since the beginning of this year.
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12/12/2007
The United States is interested in employing Czech companies to work on its missile defence system, reported Hospodarske noviny on Wednesday. The Pentagon has voiced an interest in working with Czech firms in the fields of research and development, and industrial production in particular, the paper reports. Around 30 Czech firms and 20 research institutes are set to discuss plans with a US delegation in Prague next month. It is currently unclear how much these contracts could be worth.
A delegation from the Pentagon is expected to finalise these contracts with the Czech Defence Ministry in February. The construction of a US anti-missile radar base will be negotiated at the same time. The White House is hoping to build the base in Brdy, central Bohemia.
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12/12/2007
An international warrant had been issued for the arrest of Frantisek Prochazka. He stands accused of the biggest cash robbery in the country’s history, suspected of taking over half a billion CZK (around 31 million USD). Mr Prochazka was charged with the theft in absentia last Thursday. He has been missing since the robbery occurred. The suspect was working as a security guard for the firm G4S, from which the sum was stolen. G4S have offered a two-million euro reward to anyone who helps track Mr Prochazka or any possible accomplices down.
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12/12/2007
President Vaclav Klaus met with Christian Democrat deputies on Wednesday, in a bid to enlist their support in next February’s presidential elections. The Christian Democrats are still undecided as to whether they will support incumbent president Vaclav Klaus, or his rival, the economist Jan Svejnar. After the meeting, Christian Democrat Jan Kasal said his party may well not opt for any one candidate, with deputies voting instead for their personal preference. Mr Klaus reacted to the meeting by saying that at no point did he feel like Christian Democrat mps were in strong disagreement with his views. Mr Svejnar has already addressed deputies from the Christian Democratic Party, he will announce next week whether he intends to run against Mr Klaus for the presidency.
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