Prague mayor now most popular politico

Prague Mayor Pavel Bem has become the most popular politician in the Czech Republic, suggests a poll conducted this month by the STEM agency. Sixty-two percent of respondents said they had a positive opinion of Mr Bem. Defence Minister Vlasta Parkanova has slipped from first to second place in the ratings. Ms Parkanova came in for some ridicule after presenting George Bush with a CD on which she sang backing vocals on a ditty welcoming the idea of a US radar base in the Czech Republic. Pavel Bem, meanwhile, last month became only the tenth Czech to reach the peak of Mount Everest.