President Klaus sends his greetings to Social Democrat conference

The head of Vaclav Klaus's presidential office Jiri Weigl has conveyed the president's greetings to the Social Democrat conference in Brno. President Klaus - who is still honorary chairman of the right-wing Civic Democratic Party - said the Social Democrats were the oldest democratic party in the Czech Republic and their congress was a major event for the whole nation. He also added that even though they were now in opposition they still had a major role to play in ensuring the country's well being. Later, conference delegates passed a resolution calling on the Social Democrat deputies and senators not to vote for Mr Klaus in the next presidential elections, planned for next year. Party leader Jiri Paroubek described President Klaus as a populist and an ideological dogmatist.