Press Review

President Klaus's New Year address, photo: CTK

January 1st being a holiday -the papers all welcome the New Year in on the morning of January 2nd- highlighting President Klaus' very first New Year's address to the nation, reporting on the New Year celebrations which are said to have been exceptionally boisterous this year and listing all the changes that the new year is expected to bring.

The most significant event is of course the Czech Republic's planned entry to the EU on May 1st. Pravo carries a list of all the changes that EU membership will bring: from general guidelines to a more detailed outlook tailored to various professions such as what EU membership will mean for students, farmers and entrepreneurs. Finally the paper has asked several people to tell readers how they feel about becoming "Europeans" in just a few months time.

Lidove noviny has a rather more sober front page focussing on the price rises which Czechs have woken up to on January 2nd. Government imposed tax hikes have sent the price of alcohol, cigarettes, fuel, telecommunications and services up by several percent and the paper notes that many families will have to tighten their belts and revise their spending priorities.

Although Czechs have been encouraged to buy on credit in recent years - there are signs that banks may have been just a bit too lenient in checking out individuals' credentials. The indebtedness of Czech households has now reached 223 billion crowns, says Pravo, and on the advice of the International Monetary Fund, banks are now paying more attention to their credit registers.

Hospodarske noviny notes that although most Czechs support EU membership, many fear that competition on the common market could adversely affect their own lives. According to a survey conducted by the CVVM public opinion research agency 43% of Czechs fear price rises in the coming year, 19% are afraid of loosing their job because their firm may not survive in the new conditions. 46% of respondents expect their finances to take a hit after the country joins the EU in May, only 19% said their finances would most likely improve.

New Year's firework in Prague, photo: CTK

As usual the papers report on the first baby born in the New Year - this time it was a baby boy -little Vojtisek who came into the world in the first seconds of the new year in the Moravian town of Radostin. Traditionally most towns in the Czech Republic make a huge fuss over the first babies born in the new year - reporting on their names, weight and showering presents on them. Last year the Prague Town hall gave 10 thousand crowns apiece to each of the 26 babies born in the Czech capital on the first day of the new year, Mlada fronta dnes says.

And finally, the same paper reports that the flu epidemic which is already rampant in the north and western part of the country is expected to hit Prague with full force next week. The papers advise people to eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and avoid public places as far as possible.