Poll: majority says President should act in concordance with government

54 percent of respondents in a recent poll have said that the president should act in concordance with the cabinet with regards to foreign policy, and follow the political course set by the Foreign Ministry. The poll was conducted by the CVVM polling agency in April and released Friday. More than one-fourth of respondents said that the president did not have to follow the government's recommendations. Recently Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek and President Vaclav Klaus found themselves at odds in an argument over foreign policy, with Mr Paroubek insisting it was primarily the responsibility of the cabinet and not the president. President Klaus and Mr Paroubek later settled their dispute at Prague Castle, agreeing to coordinate their standpoints during visits abroad.