Press Review

All the Czech newspapers feature on their front pages Carinthian governor Joerg Haider, who announced his retirement from politics on Monday, although he changed his mind on Tuesday, making the front pages rather redundant. Many Czech newspapers carry reactions to the Austrian election results, and say an Austria without Haider would be unlikely to put obstacles in the Czech Republic's path to the European Union.

On a different note - "Czech farmers won't get enough money from Brussels", reads a headline in today's MLADA FRONTA DNES. The paper says that although Czech farmers will not be eligible for subsidies equal to those of their West European colleagues after the Czech Republic joins the European Union, the EU is willing to make other concessions: Czechs will get more seats in the European parliament than originally proposed.

Although the Czech Republic will have the same number of MPs as Belgium or Portugal, the Czech farmers will unfortunately get just one fourth of subsidies common in the European Union, and will not reach current levels in Western Europe for ten years, writes MLADA FRONTA DNES.

The business daily HOSPODARSKE NOVINY informs its readers that the Czech Republic has recently witnessed the birth of a new radical right-wing party, called the National Party. The Ministry of the Interior approved its statutes on November 20th. And just two days after the registration, National Party members took to the streets to demonstrate against NATO.

Although the Ministry first refused to register the new party, its leaders appealed to the Supreme Court, which gave it the green light. By doing so, Czech law recognizes the National Party as a legal entity, meaning the party can field candidates in the next parliamentary elections. As the name suggests, the party has a nationalistic platform.

LIDOVE NOVINY writes about the controversial project of artist Jiri David, who created a giant red neon heart that shines on one of the towers of the Romanesque St. George basilica at Prague Castle. The project has divided both the public and experts into two opposing camps.

The paper writes that one side is highly critical, saying the red heart looks like an advert for a brothel. Others praise it as a symbol of love and decency, the values upheld by president Vaclav Havel. Conservationists say they don't like the heart as the current dominant feature of the Castle, but can tolerate it because it is just temporary.

Today's PRAVO says that people are becoming uneasy about the fact that Czech medicines might be removed from pharmacies and replaced by foreign ones, which are up to five times more expensive. The paper quotes Czech Health Minister Marie Souckova as saying the government mustn't allow such a situation to occur, but PRAVO is skeptical, saying new conditions might be dictated by the EU, as soon as the country joins in 2004.