Press Review

Last Friday's presidential election and its repercussions on the Czech political scene remain in the centre of interest. Rarely does the election of a new head of state make such an impact, says Lidove Noviny. Vaclav Klaus' election victory could even topple the governing coalition.

President Klaus would then face his first serious challenge in office - and it should be interesting to see whether the new president, often criticised by his predecessor for favouring certain political parties, would be able to resist the urge to mould the Czech political scene to his own liking, the paper notes.

Hospodarske Noviny assesses the government's chances of surviving next week's confidence vote in parliament, noting that it will be a nerve-racking week for the cabinet. For the moment the prime minister is keeping a poker face, but the pressure is clearly growing. Already the communists are playing for high stakes, saying they will support the coalition government only if certain ministers are replaced, Hospodarske Noviny reports.

Political analysts note that Vladimir Spidla is clearly fighting a battle for survival, both as party head and prime minister. His predecessor Milos Zeman, who retired from politics last spring, whose supporters within the Social Democratic party have undercut Mr. Spidla's authority, has taken the battle into the open, telling Lidove Noviny that Mr. Spidla, and close party allies interior minister Stanislav Gross, and speaker of the Lower House Lubomir Zoaralek, should resign.

Recent developments have led to a lot of speculation regarding Mr. Zeman's present influence on the party, and the papers point out that even from his country cottage the former prime minister "casts a long shadow". According to Pravo, Mr. Zeman's supporters within the party are already considering a possible successor to Vladimir Spidla: the name on many peoples' lips is Jiri Rusnok, the industry and trade minister.

Meanwhile, there is plenty of speculation regarding what kind of president Vaclav Klaus could turn out to be. His ambition is clear, says Mlada Fronta Dnes - to be as different from his predecessor Vaclav Havel as possible. The paper reports that Mr. Klaus has already begun making "small changes" in protocol at Prague Castle.

He will not be waving to the crowds from a balcony after his inauguration but will descend to the courtyard in order to "be closer to the people", and he allegedly wants to be "more down to earth and less pompous", the paper says. The papers note with some amusement that the one time finance minister has crossed out over a hundred names on a list of invited guests to his inauguration dinner on Friday, and said that a glass of wine would suffice in place of a reception between the inauguration itself and a military parade that is to follow.

Mlada Fronta Dnes reports that the president elect has chosen a different office from that used by his predecessor. And, it has also not escaped notice that, unlike Vaclav Havel, Vaclav Klaus has not asked for a Te Deum, a mass to celebrate his inauguration. While there will be no celebration at St. Vitus' Cathedral, there is a lot of it going on among Mr. Klaus' fans and supporters: Mlada Fronta Dnes notes the large amount of "Thank God" and "God Bless You" messages on the internet these days, in connection with Mr Klaus' victory.