News of Radio Prague

Zeman rules out standing in first round of presidential election

Former Prime Minister Milos Zeman has been speaking to reporters after emerging as the clear winner of the so-called “party referendum”, organised by the senior coalition Social Democrats to choose a presidential candidate. The poll suggested that Mr Zeman - seen as representing the party's old guard - was the most popular candidate among Social Democrat supporters. This has been an embarrassment to the party leadership, who hoped the poll would endorse their preferred candidate, the country's ombudsman Otakar Motejl. Mr Zeman repeated on Sunday that he would only stand in the second round of the presidential election, posing more problems for the Social Democrats, who want to field a candidate in the first round.

Motejl: I still want to stand for president

Meanwhile Mr Motejl has said he still wants to stand in the election, despite his poor showing in the poll. The popular ombudsman came third, behind Mr Zeman and also outsider Jaroslav Bures. However Mr Motejl remains highly popular among the general public, and observers say he is the only candidate who enjoys sufficient cross-party support in parliament to be elected. The Social Democrats have until December 7th to choose a candidate. The election itself takes place on January 15th in a joint session of the upper and lower house. President Vaclav Havel steps down on February 2nd after 13 years in the post.

Czech and Slovak prime ministers agree on joint air defence system

The Czech and Slovak prime ministers have agreed to look for ways to create a joint air defence system. Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla, speaking to reporters in Bratislava after meeting his Slovak counterpart Mikulas Dzurinda, said the two countries were to analyse the possibility of creating a joint force to protect Czech and Slovak airspace. The Czech government recently cancelled a deal to purchase 24 new Gripen jet fighters at a cost of some 2 billion dollars, saying the country couldn't afford it.

Austrian anti-nuclear protestors blockade border crossing

Austrian protestors staged a brief blockade of a border crossing on Saturday in protest at the Czech Republic's Temelin nuclear power plant. A group of around 20 anti-nuclear activists blocked the Gmund border crossing for around 30 minutes before dispersing. There were no arrests. The blockade was organised by Austria's Stop Temelin group, who said they wanted the Austrian government to do more to oppose the use of nuclear power in neighbouring countries. There has been tension between Austria and the Czech Republic over Temelin, although relations have improved considerably in recent months.

Prague Civic Democrats back Zahradil for leader

Jan Zahradil, deputy chairman of the opposition Civic Democrats, has been given a boost in his campaign to become the party's new leader, after the party's influential Prague branch said it was backing him for the post. The Civic Democrats elect a new leader on December 15th to replace Vaclav Klaus, who has led the party since its foundation ten years ago. Mr Klaus, prime minister under successive Civic Democrat-led governments in the 1990s, announced his decision to resign after the party's poor showing in this year's general election. Mr Klaus is the party's candidate for president, but observers say he has little chance of being elected.

Weather forecast

Monday will be another cloudy and rainy day, with the chance of showers or rain in the west. Temperatures in the daytime will range from three to 7 degrees Celsius, falling to lows of minus two degrees at night.