Press Review

The main stories on today's front pages are the government's decision to send Czech troops to a possible war against Iraq and the upcoming presidential elections in the Czech Republic. All major papers show a photo of Vaclav Havel carrying a bouquet of flowers he was given at yesterday's government meeting - most likely the last one Mr Havel ever attended.

PRAVO dedicates a whole page to the possible involvement of Czech units in a war with Iraq, quoting opinions of various Czech politicians on the matter and also the most recent poll result which suggests thirty-nine percent of Czechs support their country's participation in a potential attack against Iraq.

LIDOVE NOVINY reports that the Czech Confederation of Trade Unions contacted the Social Democratic Party and asked them to consider voting for Senate Chairman Petr Pithart in the upcoming presidential elections. The Social Democrats put forward their own candidate, former Justice Minister Jaroslav Bures but some of the eleven Social Democratic senators have already said they will not give their votes to Mr Bures.

The paper dedicates two whole pages to Petr Pithart, as part of their series on the presidential election. LIDOVE NOVINY quotes Mr Pithart as saying he would put an end to the tradition of official portraits of the president hanging on the wall in every classroom in the country. He also objects to the tradition of postal stamps featuring the current head of state. "It is an old Austro-Hungarian tradition of worshipping the monarch, I would like to abolish it but I'd have to consult it first, of course."

Staying with LIDOVE NOVINY, and the paper carries an article on Karel Brezina, a minister without portfolio in the previous government, who was more famous for his love affairs and passion for football than actual work. Mr Brezina, the youngest ever minister to serve in a Czech government, was offered a well-paid job at the Ceskoslovenska obchodni banka, the bank which bought the bankrupt IPB bank in 2000 under controversial circumstances.

MLADA FRONTA DNES brings bad news to all beer-drinkers. Some large breweries are putting prices up, by five percent on average in 2003, the paper says. It means that the price of half a litre on tap will go up by fifty hellers or more in most pubs. Those who prefer to savour their beer in the privacy of their homes will not feel the price increase so much. The price of bottled beer will rise by only 1.5 percent on average.

LIDOVE NOVINY reports on the special dinner the outgoing President Vaclav Havel held at Prague Castle on Monday evening for all doctors who took care of him during his time in office. Twenty-four physicians are smiling from a photo in LIDOVE NOVINY, together with the presidential couple and the current Health Minister Marie Souckova.

The economic daily HOSPODARSKE NOVINY carries a story on the volatile situation in the public-service Czech Television. Since the television supervisory board sacked the station's director Jiri Balvin after only a year in office, the vacant position has attracted fifty-one candidates. Rumour has it that among them there are some well-known names in the Czech media business but the TV supervisory board won't disclose the list. The new director should be elected within three months, HOSPODARSKE NOVINY writes.