Press Review

The war in Iraq continues to dominate front pages and the papers note that what was supposed to be a short and sharp conflict may now drag on for months. President Bush has asked congress for war funds which would last for at least six months, Lidove Noviny says.

The papers give readers detailed reports of the fighting and the growing number of victims on both sides. They carry claims and counter claims regarding who is responsible for the Bagdad open market massacre and there are many personal views from opponents and advocates of this war.

"Foreign intervention in Iraq will only fuel hatred " says translator Sulaiman Fahad who has lived in Prague since 1958. In the opinion column of Lidove Noviny Mr. Fahad argues that the deaths of beloved family members and friends will make even Saddam Husain's strongest opponents and US sympathizers turn against the allies.

Iraqi emigres scattered around the world are divided over the war in their homeland and the papers have given them plenty of space to voice their opinions. "I'm going home to shoot the Americans" twenty year old Malik told Hospodarske Noviny as he boarded a bus from Jordan to Iraq. On the other hand Mlada Fronta Dnes has emigrees who say that this war will give them back their lives. "Just imagine that in a few weeks or months we will be drinking coffee with our friends in Bagdad and Saddam will be gone" one Iraqi dissident told the paper.

That dream seems very distant though as the papers focus on the growing humanitarian crisis in Iraq. Southern Iraq is suffering from a lack of water, food and medication and both Pravo and Mlada Fronta Dnes show crowds of desperate Iraqis scuffling to get rations as allied soldiers distribute emergency food and water supplies. Lidove Noviny reports that the shortage of emergency aid is due to the fact that many roads have been heavily mined and trucks delivering aid have been unable to reach their destinations.

On the domestic front, the weekend conference of the governing Social Democratic Party has evoked widespread comment. All the papers speculate on whether the Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla can retain his position as party head and what would happen if he does not. If he fails to get re-elected it would shake the very foundation of the three-party governing coalition, Pravo says, and -who else is there to form a government with?

Basically there are three possible scenarios, says Lidove Noviny. The first is a convincing victory for Mr. Spidla which seems rather improbable under the present circumstances. The second is a status quo: Mr. Spidla remains head of the party and head of the Cabinet but the party infighting persists. And finally, Mr. Spidla gets replaced by the present vice chairman Stanislav Gross. If that should happen then the government would most likely fall, and Mr. Gross would have to try and put together a new Cabinet - or maybe even prepare for early elections.

The Czech Social Democrats are to get some direct advice from the European Commissioner for Expansion, German Social Democrat Gunter Verheugen who is to address the party conference this weekend. According to Pravo Mr. Verheugen would like the Social Democrats to overcome their present difficulties and he has suggested that a strong pro-European agenda would be a good common platform.

The best course of action for the Czech Social Democrats - says Brussels-based political analyst Jean Michelle de Wael - is to grit their teeth and overcome their differences in order to salvage what they can. The Prime Minister's expression these days leaves no doubt that he's gritting his teeth, the paper notes.