Daily news summary
Deadline passes for registering in presidential elections
Tuesday, November 7th, marked the last day in which individuals could register to run in next year’s presidential elections. The deadline to file with the Interior Ministry was 4 pm. In order to qualify for the ballot, candidates were required to gather 50,000 signatures from citizens, or had to win support from twenty MPs or 10 senators.
The Interior Ministry in the coming days will assess which candidates met the legal requirements, and also verify a randomly chosen sample of signatures for each entry. A total of 18 candidates reportedly filed by Tuesday, but it is not yet clear whether all met the legal conditions.
The first round of voting in the presidential elections is to take place on January 12-13, with a runoff to be held a fortnight later if required.
Czech finance minister attends Eurozone meeting
The Czech finance minister, Ivan Pilny, on Tuesday attended a meeting of the Eurozone focusing on the fiscal rules governing the Eurozone and on the future of the banking union.
The presence of the Czech finance minister was in response to a request from the Czech government for the Czech Republic to be granted observer status at Eurozone meetings despite the fact that it has not yet adopted the single currency. According to Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka being involved in the debate would help prepare the country for Eurozone membership in due time.
The Czech Republic and Croatia have also been invited to attend the December Euro Summit as observers.
Energy companies post damage from hurricane-force storm at almost 100 million crowns
Energy producers in the Czech Republic have tabulated that damage from hurricane-force winds two Sundays ago, reached almost 100 million crowns. The storm, which began at around 12 AM on October 29, and lasted throughout the night and into the next day, brought down trees and power lines; four people were killed by falling trees. On the country’s highest peak, Snežka, winds reached the speed of 180 km/h. The head of energy giant ČEZ, Daniel Beneš, said that ČEZ had seen damage worth more than 70 million crowns but said it would have no impact on company results as the firm was insured against natural calamities of this kind.
Energy company E.ON posted damage at around 20 million crowns.
Culture Minister to sign new film co-production agreement in Israel
Culture Minister Daniel Herman will sign a new agreement on film co-production during a five-day visit to Israel beginning Tuesday. The agreement will outline specific conditions for co-producers and classify joint-projects as 'national' films within their territory, opening the door to additional financial support from public funds. The agreement is to be signed in Israel’s Parliament on Wednesday.
During his visit, Minister Herman will meet with his counterpart Miri Regev and also tour a watchtower in Jerusalem by famous Czech architect Martin Rajniš. The tower was built for Jerusalem Design Week in June.
ANO head says he has nominee for post of Minister of Industry and Trade
Andrej Babiš, the head of ANO tasked with forming the new government, has said he has found a candidate for the post of Minister of Industry and Trade. However, he has not divulged the person’s name as yet. Mr Babiš is looking to form a minority government capable of finding broader political backing in the lower house, after his party won almost 30 percent of the vote in the election in October.
On Monday, ANO representatives met with representatives of the Civic Democratic party to discuss posts in the new Chamber of Deputies; ANO is pushing for Radek Vondráček to become the new house speaker. Facing opposition to the idea, Babiš pointed out the last election winners, the Social Democrats, had also secured the post.
Czech singer Karel Štedrý dead at 80
Czech singer, screenwriter and actor Karel Štedrý, famous for I have a Small Tent, a duet with Waldemar Matuška, and songs like Letters and Magdaléna, has died at the age of 80. In the 1960s, the entertainer was connected to famous Prague theatres and clubs such as Reduta and Rokoko, as well as the renowned Semafor Theatre, which he co-founded and where he worked from 1959 to 1962.
As an actor, he appeared in the films If a Thousand Clarinets and That Czech Song of Ours.
Weather
Wednesday is expected to be rainy. Daytime temperatures should reach highs of around 8 degrees Celsius.
