Media: Pirates only coalition party for Istanbul Convention debate

The Pirate Party are keen to hold a debate on the Istanbul Convention in the Czech lower house but the other four parties in the coalition government are against, Czech Television reported on Sunday. The other government partners are keen to keep the divisive issue on the back burner until at least after Senate elections in the autumn, Czech TV said.

Czechia signed up to the convention, which is designed to protect women from violence, eight years ago but has yet to ratify the document. The Czech upper house voted against ratification earlier this year.

The speaker of Chamber of Deputies, Markéta Pekarová Adamová of government party TOP 09, recently said it would be irresponsible to hold a vote on ratifying the Istanbul Convention at present, given the unclear level of support for it among MPs.