Parties already rueing approval of direct presidential elections, says Klaus

Mr. Klaus, who steps down as president after two terms in March, also slammed the introduction of a direct presidential vote as populist nonsense that would come back to haunt its backers. It was a mistake to think the public would choose his successor, he said, it was actually the media who would select the president and the public would merely ratify their choice in two rounds of voting set to take place on the second and third weekends of January. The president said the big parties were already aware that they had scored an own goal by supporting a direct vote, a change which had been discussed for many years before being approved by Parliament in the summer.