Press Review

Tuesday's front pages feature a variety of domestic and international stories -from the government's decision to postpone the sale of its stake in Cesky Telecom to the deserted classroom in the Bosnian town of Vlasenica where a teenage student attacked his teachers with a gun, only three days after the tragic shooting in the German town of Erfurt.

Lidove noviny leads with the dispute between the head of the Czech Medical Chamber David Rath and the leader of the Civic Democrats Vaclav Klaus over the future of the chamber. The Civic Democrats plan to make membership in the medical chamber voluntary for doctors, a move which would considerably weaken its powers. Lidove noviny writes that Mr Rath is launching a media campaign in which he will compare Vaclav Klaus to the first communist president of Czechoslovakia, Klement Gottwald, who dissolved the Medical Chamber after the communist takeover in 1948.

Mlada fronta Dnes returns to yesterday's decision of the Czech government to approve the project of reforming the Czech Army as put forward by Defence Minister Jaroslav Tvrdik. According to this project the Czech Army will become fully professional in 2007. The daily says that two months before the general election such a decision doesn't guarantee much.

Leaders of the opposition say minister Tvrdik did not consult with them over the planned reform, despite promising to do so before putting it forward. They say the ruling Social Democrats have to take into account that the election will decide who will implement the reform and that there might be major changes in it. Mlada fronta Dnes quotes the leader of the Christian Democrats, Cyril Svoboda, as saying that there should always be general political consensus in matters of such importance - ie.. the defence of the country.

Pravo reports on the reaction of Czech authorities to an article published in the British daily The Guardian on Monday which says that Iraq recently received a consignment of anti-aircraft missiles, rockets and missile guidance systems originating from the Czech Republic. Pravo reports that the Czech Defence Ministry dismissed the allegations saying the article is utter nonsense and instructed the Czech embassy in London to demand that the record should be set straight.

The economic daily Hospodarske noviny leads with the government's unsuccessful attempt to sell off its majority stake in the dominant fixed-line operator Cesky Telecom. The newspaper says it is the second time the government has asked more than the bidders were willing to pay, last time it happened when the state was trying to sell its share in the power utility CEZ. Economists and opposition politicians say they predicted the attempt would fail adding that the government had missed the best moment to sell off its share a long time ago.

Both Mlada fronta Dnes and Pravo dedicate a full page to the Wednesday May 1st national holiday, or Labour Day. Mlada fronta Dnes features the stories of five people who for various reasons do not work. Pravo reminds readers of the origin of the holiday and takes a brief look at how different European nations celebrate the day.

The daily lists all the planned meetings of various left-wing groups and parties across the Czech Republic tomorrow but also mentions that May Day is not only Labour Day in the Czech Republic but traditionally a day dedicated to love. A photo in Pravo shows a popular Czech May Day custom - a couple kissing underneath a blossoming tree.