Press Review
All the papers today report on the police operation "Fantine" in which thousands of police stormed brothels across the country in a drive to stamp out trafficking in women. Most papers feature photos from Iraq on their front pages: soldiers armed to the teeth, flames and wreckage after another terrorist attack in Iraq.
LIDOVE NOVINY devotes its front page editorial to the sweeping police operation against prostitution which resulted in just a handful of arrests. The paper believes that Interior Minister Stanislav Gross ordered the action to boost his prestige, as he did with the recent operation Krystof, which was aimed at increasing road safety.
Czech roads continue to resemble a slaughterhouse and prostitutes and their pimps operate in city centres as if nothing happened, but the minister achieved his goal of getting in the limelight, LIDOVE NOVINY writes. The only way for him to shrug off allegations of populism would be to make sure the police patrol roads and streets all the time and people can feel the difference in safety and security.
MLADA FRONTA DNES reports that the number of babies born in the Czech Republic has been decreasing steadily. The government has therefore taken steps to motivate people to have more children. However, experts differ on whether these changes will be effective enough.
Mothers on maternity leave now receive a social benefit of 2500 crowns a month and can earn an extra 3500 crowns. As of next year, they will be able to earn an unlimited amount of money, but with a catch: they will have to care for their babies personally round the clock. As of next year, parents will also pay somewhat lower taxes, but this will be offset by the abolition of certain child-oriented social benefits.
Today's PRAVO features an interview with renowned Czech economist Jan Svejnar, who is a professor of economics at Michigan University. He criticises Czech politicians for wasting time and effort on petty disputes. Instead, they should be trying to agree with other small nations on joint positions on European issues where the size of the countries matters to be able to face pressure from large members.
