Švejnar still in dark over conditions under which he could give up US citizenship

Presidential candidate Jan Švejnar says he is still waiting to hear from the American State Department regarding the conditions under which he could give up his US citizenship. The professor of economics, who has spent much of his life in United States, has joint Czech-American citizenship. The Communist Party have said they will not back him unless he relinquishes the latter. Speaking at a media briefing in Prague, Mr Švejnar said that he would live in the Czech Republic long-term if elected, as would his American wife Kathy.

A meeting on Tuesday between Mr Švejnar and senators from the Civic Democrats lasted less than 10 minutes. The Civic Democrat senators will back their own party’s candidate – the incumbent Václav Klaus – in the February 8 presidential election.