Press Review
One topic dominates all today's front pages: yesterday's trial of former high-ranking Foreign Ministry official Karel Srba. All the dailies show photos of Mr Srba before the court in the southern town of Ceske Budejovice. Mr Srba was sentenced to eight years in prison for ordering the murder of a journalist with the daily Mlada Fronta Dnes. The paper itself shows a photo of the intended victim, investigative reporter Sabina Slonkova, and LIDOVE NOVINY prints pictures of Mr Srba's three accomplices who were sentenced to between four and six years in jail.
Onto other topics, "The government has approved the first package of public finance reforms and forwarded them to parliament for discussion, writes LIDOVE NOVINY. The first package for example includes bills on the reduction of sickness benefits which is expected to save the state between four and five billion crowns.
The bills suggest that during the first three days on sick leave, people would receive only 25 percent of their daily wage instead of the current 50. Another bill in the package will, if passed, gradually increase retirement age for both men and women, to reach 63 in 2013. Last but not least, LIDOVE NOVINY writes, parents on maternity and paternity leave will be allowed to earn more while still receiving benefits from the state.
LIDOVE NOVINY also writes that Social Democrat MPs who will vote against the reform laws in the lower house might be punished by their party even despite the fact that MPs must not be sanctioned for their personal standpoints. The head of the Social Democrat deputies' group in the lower house, Petr Ibl, told the paper that the group still had not discussed the matter but he could not rule out that the Social Democratic Party will oblige its deputies to approve the reform package. The deputies themselves differ in opinion as to whether they should pledge to vote unanimously.
PRAVO carries an interview with the head of the Civic Democrat deputies' group Vlastimil Tlusty, who has come up with his own reform plan. Mr Tlusty proposes that the state should pay each and every citizen a flat monthly social benefit from the age of 18 until the end of their life. The flat amount should in Mr Tlusty's opinion replace the complicated system of pensions, unemployment, disability, parental and other benefits, significantly reducing the number of civil servants who are now responsible for those. It would be up to the citizens what they would do with the money, whether to spend it if they are unemployed or, for example, save it in funds towards their pension.
In the interview for PRAVO, Mr Tlusty says the main idea behind his suggestion is to motivate people to take care of themselves, to secure themselves for old age, to actively seek employment and thus boost the economy. Apart from that, the simplification of the benefit system would reduce the number of civil servants by 50,000 and save a billion crowns every year. PRAVO adds that Mr Tlusty's independent move surprised his party colleagues, and the paper suggests it hints at a certain tension within the opposition party.
MLADA FRONTA DNES reports that the first weekend of summer holidays brought about a great number of road accidents. Twenty-three people died on Czech roads between Friday and Sunday, says MLADA FRONTA DNES and quotes officer Josef Tesarik from the Traffic Police Headquarters as saying he has never seen anything like it. The death toll on Czech roads on an average weekend is between eight and ten fatalities, but last weekend with its 1,509 accidents breaks all records.
MLADA FRONTA DNES adds that many of the drivers had been drinking. Summer holidays are typically marked by an increase in the number of traffic accidents. More people drive longer distances, the heat and consequent tiredness also have its share, and on top of that, many accidents are caused by "Sunday drivers" or boy racers in powerful cars who overestimate their driving skills, MLADA FRONTA DNES reports.
