Press Review

All today's papers feature photos of the new cabinet members who were sworn into office yesterday at Prague Castle. The main dailies quote President Vaclav Havel as saying he believes the government will prove a hard-working team which will remain in office for the whole four-year term and lead the Czech Republic into the European Union.

In its Prague supplement Mlada fronta Dnes introduces the new Mayor of Prague, Igor Nemec, who was elected yesterday for a 4-month interim period until the November local elections. Despite his short term in office Mr Nemec has ambitious goals and tried to persuade his colleagues confidently that he could solve all the problems, which have been troubling the city for years, comments Mlada fronta Dnes.

The voting took a long time on Monday because the city councillors could not agree on the procedure. Mlada fronta Dnes quotes Freedom Union councillor, Michael Hvizdala, as saying the session looked rather like a party in a school for the mentally retarded and the councillors behaved like children. Mlada fronta Dnes also asks the former Mayor, Jan Kasl, what he thinks about his successor. Mr Kasl told the paper he had known Mr Nemec for some time and he didn't expect much from him.

Pravo lists Czech MPs who declared the highest extra income for last year. Vaclav Klaus leads the list with almost 3 million crowns earned on top of his regular salary amounting to another million. Most of Mr Klaus's income came from books and papers published abroad. Only one of his party colleagues, Oldrich Vojir, came anywhere close to Mr Klaus's earnings - he declared 1.8 million crowns he had made as a member of several boards. Another Civic Democrat, Ivan Langer, declared an income of over 1 million crowns on top of his salary.

Mlada fronta Dnes covers the same story and adds that one of the most modest MPs is traditionally the new vice-premier and Justice Minister Pavel Rychetsky who has declared 6,274 crowns of extra income for the third time this year. The daily comments that the Social Democrat leaders, Milos Zeman and Vladimir Spidla, may not have earned a single crown on top of their salaries, but their party managed to win the elections, while the Civic Democrats were kept busy by their private businesses.

Lidove noviny carries a photo of ex-Prime Minister, Milos Zeman, hugging the former Soviet President, Mikhail Gorbachev who will spend the next two weeks in the west Bohemian town of Karlovy Vary taking the waters in the famous spa. Mr Zeman received Mr Gorbachev at his government villa on Monday and showed him the view of Prague while talking to him in fluent Russian. The two politicians met for the third time.

Only Mlada fronta Dnes managed to include a story about yesterday's floods in the south Moravian region of Blansko before its deadline. The paper features a photo of people standing in water up to their mid-calves. Despite recently completed anti-flood measures, torrential rain and swollen streams flooded gardens, cellars and ground floors of houses in several villages.

Mlada fronta Dnes reports on its front page about a freak accident which happened a few days ago near the north Moravian town of Sumperk. A lightning bolt killed a whole herd of cattle that had taken cover under a tall tree during a fierce thunderstorm. Twenty two cows which were huddled together probably died of electric shock after the lightning was conducted from the tree into the sodden ground.