News

• Oct 23, 2013:
• Oct 23, 2013:
• Jun 06, 2012: Okamura to run for Czech Senate as independent, CzechPosition.com (2012) Tomio Okamura will stand as independent candidate to represent the southern Moravian region of Zlín in elections to the Senate of Czech Republic.
• Apr 16, 2012: Poll: ČSSD would win Czech elections, VV to leave parliament, http://praguemonitor (2012) The poll shows that if elections were held next week, 52 percent of Czech would take part in them. The senior opposition Social Democrats (CSSD) would win general election in the Czech Republic.
• Feb 10, 2012:
• Feb 09, 2012: Czech President to Be Elected in Public Vote, abcnews (2012) The Parliament of Czech Republic approved a change in the Constitution regarding elections of president. In the next presidential election that will be held in early 2013, presidents will be chosen in a popular election.
• Dec 01, 2010: Govt wants to push through direct presidential election (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) The Czech government coalition wants to push through constitutional changes in mid-2011 that would enable a direct presidential election in 2013. Negotiations started between the parties.
• Oct 20, 2010: ODS wins local polls, most seats go to independent candidates (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) The Czech Civic Democrats (ODS) were the most successful out of political parties in the October 15-16 local elections, but the highest number of seats in municipal assemblies was gained by local associations of independent candidates, according to the final statistical data.
• Oct 20, 2010: Roma candidate now on local council after Czech municipal elections (romea.cz, 2010) The municipal elections held this past weekend have rejected the "godfathers" of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS). Votes went instead to the largest left-wing party, ČSSD, and to political newcomers TOP 09. In addition to the surprise successes of newly established associations and the deep losses for the Public Affairs Party (Věcí veřejné), an old familiar malady has also resurfaced - the buying of socially disadvantaged persons' votes. Of the three Roma candidates with whom we published interviews prior to the elections, only one has succeeded: Marcel Cichý (ODS) is now a council member in Trmice.
• Oct 20, 2010: ODS lost Czech local elections due to Topolanek - Klaus in press (Ceské Noviny, 2010) The Civic Democrats (ODS) lost the weekend local elections to the Social Democrats (CSSD) because the ODS was harmed by its former leader Mirek Topolanek and ties to lobbyist groups, Czech President Vaclav Klaus told today´s issue of the daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD).
• Oct 20, 2010: Local, Senate elections are not definite, Klaus says (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) The results of the weekend local and Senate elections are not decisive, though everyone pretends to have won them, Czech President Vaclav Klaus said yesterday, according to the server Novinky.cz.
• Oct 15, 2010: Czechs Vote in `Referendum' on Austerity That May Weaken Cabinet Stability (Bloomberg, 2010) Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas’s three-month-old government may be weakened by municipal and Senate elections that began today amid growing anger over spending cuts.
• Oct 15, 2010: PREVIEW: Czech Republic's senior ruling party faces election test (M&G, 2010) Czechs are to vote Friday and Saturday in municipal and Senate elections, which may produce an unpleasant loss for the country's senior ruling party in the capital, Prague, after two decades of landslide victories there.
• Oct 15, 2010: Czech Republic: Prague City Hall top prize in local elections (The Prague Post, 2010) Voting is an early referendum on the Nečas government. Voters across the country take to the polls Oct. 15-16 in local and senate elections.
• Sep 09, 2010: Czech Republic: MfD: Klaus 'less naughty' in second term in office (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) Czech President Vaclav Klaus is provoking less annoyance during his second term in office and his relations with the government and the Chamber of Deputies have improved, the daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) writes yesterday.
• Sep 09, 2010: Czech Republic: LN: Right-wing parties needlessly nervous before polls (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) The nervousness of the Czech right-wing parties ahead of the mid-October local and Senate elections is unnecessary because they are second-category polls that are not decisive for the real strength of particular parties, Stanislav Balik writes in Lidove noviny yesterday.
• Sep 06, 2010: Czech ex-athletes line up for local fall elections (Hurriyet Daily News, 2010) A shakeup in Czech political parties beginning with May's general elections has resulted in an influx of former sports stars entering the political arena in the lead-up to fall local elections.
• Sep 06, 2010: The Comeback Of The Czech Social Democrats, Party Of Spoilers (Eurasia Review, 2010) After more than a year of being run by a provisional team of technocrats, the Czech Republic has a new centre-right coalition government, who won a vote of confidence earlier this month.
• Sep 03, 2010: Czech Republic: Local, Senate elections to confirm reform drive - Czech PM Necas (Czech Happenings, 2010) The autumn local and Senate elections are to confirm the voters' will to implement reforms and responsible budget policy, Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas told journalists today.
• Sep 03, 2010: Czech female MPs have reduced politics by posing as pin-ups (The Guardian, 2010) Posing for a girly calendar is just one way Czech politicians have dodged engaging with issues that really matter.
• Sep 03, 2010: Czech Republic: Political parties look to athletes (The Prague Post, 2010) A shakeup in Czech political parties beginning with May's general elections has resulted in an influx of former sports stars entering the political arena in the lead-up to fall local elections.
• Aug 23, 2010: EU foreigners with Czech residency may vote in local elections (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) Foreigners from other European Union countries who have permanent residency in the Czech Republic will have the right to participate in the local elections due on October 15-16.
• Aug 13, 2010: Respekt: ČSSD at crossroads after election debacle (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) The Czech Social Democrats (CSSD) are looking for a new face to be more attractive for voters in fear that if they failed, they might disappear from the political scene, writes the political weekly Respekt out Monday.
• Aug 13, 2010: Poll: One-third satisfied with new govt lineup (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) One-third of Czechs are satisfied with the lineup of the new coalition cabinet of Petr Necas (Civic Democrats, ODS), while one-fifth assess it negatively, according to a poll conducted by the Focus agency and released to CTK.
• Aug 13, 2010: Czech election campaign of VV cost 87, not 10 millions - server (ČeskéNoviny.cz , 2010) The election campaign of the Public Affairs (VV) cost some 87 million crowns though the Czech junior government party said it was 10 million, the Aktualne new server writes today, referring to a calculation by the Admosphere company.
• Aug 13, 2010: Poll: ČSSD responsible for its failure in election (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) Czech Social Democrats (CSSD) could have achieved a much better result in the May elections, but they failed to convince almost one half of their potential voters to support them or to go to the polling stations, according to a poll conducted by the polling agency STEM and released Friday.
• Aug 13, 2010: Czech government ignoring regions - CSSD (ČeskéNoviny.cz , 2010) The coalition agreement of the center-right government seems to indicate that the government is scornful of the regional authorities, Michal Hasek (Social Democrats, CSSD), chairman of the Association of Czech Regions and South Moravian regional governor, said today.
• Aug 13, 2010: TOP 09 most popular party, followed by CSSD, ODS - Internet poll (ČeskéNoviny.cz , 2010) The conservative TOP 09 is the most popular Czech party with support from 22.8 percent of citizens, closely followed by the Social Democrats (CSSD; 22.6 percent) and the right-wing Civic Democrats (ODS; 21.1 percent), according to an Internet poll by SANEP agency released today.
• Aug 13, 2010: Poll: Old Czech parties have mostly loyal voters, new parties not (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) Prague, July 19 (CTK) - The three traditional Czech parties (ODS, CSSD, KSCM) were supported by voters with strong ties to their party but the two new parties in parliament (TOP 09, VV) won votes also from many citizens who have a loose relation to their party, according to a STEM poll released to CTK Mondy.
• Jul 15, 2010: Former ČNB head to lead TOP 09 in Prague local elections (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) Zdenek Tuma, former governor of the Czech National Bank (CNB), will probably head TOP 09's list of candidates in the Prague local elections this autumn, TOP 09 spokesman Jan Jakob told CTK Tuesday.
• Jul 06, 2010: Czech PM quits for new govt (The Straits Times, 2010) CZECH Prime Minister Jan Fischer formally quit on Friday, paving the way for a new centre-right coalition to form a government a month after a general election.
• Jul 06, 2010: Czech caretaker cabinet resigns, clears way for new government (Earth Times, 2010) The Czech Republic's caretaker government of Prime Minister Jan Fischer resigned on Friday, moving the country closer to a new centre-right government resulting from the May general election.
• Jul 06, 2010: Three women in new Czech parliament's leadership (M&C, 2010) The Czech Republic's new parliament in its opening session on Thursday elected three women to its four-member leadership.
• Jun 07, 2010: Czech right leader to form govt, Fitch ups outlook (Reuters, 2010) Czech President Vaclav Klaus asked right-wing Civic Democrat leader Petr Necas on Friday to lead talks on forming the next government, after centre-right parties won a decisive majority in an election last weekend.
• Jun 07, 2010: Czech Republic: Talks Toward a New Government (The New York Times, 2010) President Vaclav Klaus on Friday asked the leader of the center-right Civic Democrat party, Petr Necas, to lead talks on forming the next government, after three center-right parties cumulatively won the most votes in elections last weekend.
• Jun 04, 2010: The Lighter Side of Czech Elections: Voting for Miss Parliament 2010 (The Wall Street Journal, 2010) The Czech Republic’s general elections last weekend were a very serious affair. There was record turnout of young voters thanks to free beer and Facebook campaigns, the result looks to have created a center-right government with the strongest majority in the country’s history, and a record 44 women were elected into the 200-seat lower house of Parliament.
• Jun 04, 2010: Czech Republic - Election 2010: Voters punish big parties in landmark election Coalition negotiations are under way, and the casualties within hours of polls closing May 29 included four party leaders in what is being called a sea change for Czech politics.
• Jun 04, 2010: Czech Republic - Election 2010: Results fail to spark int'l media interest (The Prague Post, 2010) There was a subdued response to the Czech election result in the international press, with many outlets giving the result little coverage and others simply focusing on the expected fiscal austerity measures likely to be introduced by the right-wing coalition. Politicians long out of global spotlight.
• May 31, 2010: New parties 're-write' Czech political map (EurActiv, 2010) A coalition of three centre-right parties is set to form a government in the Czech Republic despite the Social Democrats having come first in general elections held on Saturday (29 May). Two of the parties are new political players, EurActiv Czech Republic reports.
• May 31, 2010: German papers view Czech elections as "political earthquake" (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) The Czech Republic has never before experienced such a "political earthquake," the German conservative daily Die Welt writes on its server, assessing the results of the May 28-29 Czech general election.
• May 31, 2010: Elections turnout second lowest since fall of communism (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) Turnout in the general election that ended Saturday was 62.6 percent, which is 2 percent less than in 2006 and the second lowest figure since the Communist regime's fall in end-1989, according to the data the Czech Statistical Office (CSU) published on www.volby.cz server.
• May 31, 2010: Economic Concerns Push Voters Towards Center-Right Government (The Spiegel, 2010) Disappointment in traditional politics was evident in the Czech elections this weekend, with the two biggest parties seeing a massive slump in votes. The country is now on course for a center-right coalition, with two newly formed parties likely to be part of any coalition government.
• May 31, 2010: Centre-right Czech parties seek alliance (The Independent, 2010) Three centre-right parties, led by the Civic Democrats under their new leader Petr Necas, won 118 seats in the 200-seat lower house in Saturday's parliamentary vote, defying expectations of a tight result.
• May 31, 2010: Czech centre-right parties start coalition talks (Reuters, 2010) Czech centre-right parties began talks on forming an austerity-minded coalition government on Sunday after their surprisingly decisive election victory over leftists who advocated higher welfare spending.
• May 31, 2010: Czechs Choose Budget Cuts Amid European Debt Crisis (Bloomberg Businessweek, 2010) The Czech Civic Democratic Party and others that pledged to cut spending won the most votes in parliamentary elections as Czechs chose budget restraint amid the European debt crisis
• May 31, 2010: Economy Propels the Czech Right (The New York Times, 2010) Center-right parties in the Czech Republic began talks Sunday on forming a coalition government after voters spooked by the economic crisis in Greece gave politicians favoring fiscal austerity the most votes over all in elections Saturday.
• May 26, 2010: Czech press survey - May 26 (Ceské Noviny, 2010) The Social Democrats (CSSD) will have no one but the Communists (KSCM) to ally with after the May 28-29 general election in the Czech Republic if the promises of other parties´ leaders were taken seriously, Daniel Kaiser writes in the daily Lidove noviny (LN) today.
• May 26, 2010: Czech Voters May Hinder Budget Cuts With Stalemate (Bloomberg Businessweek, 2010) The Czech political future may look a lot like its recent past after this weekend’s election: a government without the political strength and will to cut the country’s 163 billion koruna ($7.8 billion) budget deficit.
• May 26, 2010: General elections costs to top CZK 1bn (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) The May 28-29 general election will cost Czech taxpayers an estimated 1.056 billion crowns, while 114.5 million crowns were spent on the planned early elections last October that were not eventually held, according to the Finance Ministry data.
• May 26, 2010: Social Democrats Lead as Czech Election Looms (Agnus Reid Global Monitor, 2010) The Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD) is the most popular political organization in the country, according to a poll by CVVM. 30.5 per cent of respondents would vote for the main opposition party in this week’s legislative election.
• May 26, 2010: Respekt: Despite parties' threats, elections not fatal (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) The big Czech parties try to persuade the citizens that the forthcoming elections will be fatal but voters should not fall for this old trick once again, Erik Tabery has written in the latest issue of the weekly Respekt.
• May 26, 2010: Poll: ČSSD best in fighting corruption, ODS crisis (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) Czechs believe that the Social Democrats (CSSD) can fight corruption, health care and unemployment the best of all parties, while the Civic Democrats (ODS) are the best in fighting the economic crisis, a May poll by the Factum Invenio agency has shown.
• May 26, 2010: Respekt: Parties' manifestos close to identical (Prauge Daily Monitor, 2010) The manifestos of Czech non-communist parties have not been so close to one another as they are ahead of the May 28-29 general election for minimally 14 years, Ondrej Kundra and Marek Svehla write in the latest issue of weekly Respekt out yesterday.
• May 26, 2010: Czech Republic: TOP 09 dismisses coalition with Social Democrats (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) The Czech TOP 09 conservative party repeatedly dismissed Saturday the suspicion that it would form a coalition government with Jiri Paroubek's Social Democrats (CSSD) after the May 28-29 elections, and accused the Civic Democrats (ODS), CSSD and Public Affairs (VV) of a power cartel.
• May 26, 2010: Czech Republic: MfD: ODS, ČSSD courting new VV party (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) The two Czech strongest parties, the Social Democrats (CSSD) and the Civic Democrats (ODS), are courting the new centrist Public Affairs (VV) party and they had talks with its representatives in the past few days, Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) writes Thursday.
• May 18, 2010: Czech Republic: Respekt: Lack of information main problem of election campaign (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) The main shortcoming of the Czech parties' campaign ahead of the May 28-29 general election is the lack of information about their planned concrete steps for voters, Jiří Sobota and Marek Švehla write in the Respekt weekly out Monday.
• May 18, 2010: Czech press survey - May 17 (Ceské Noviny, 2010) The simulated elections at Czech secondary schools have one big loser - the organising People in Need NGO that gave in to political pressure and consequently lost its high credit, Petr Honzejk writes in the daily Hospodarske noviny (HN).
• May 14, 2010: Czech Republic: Election 2010: A populist ready to fight (The Prague Post, 2010) Former journalist, Radek John, presses for route to power
• May 14, 2010: Czech students prefer right-wing, CSSD popularity low (Ceske Noviny, 2010) Czech students clearly prefer rightist parties, especially the TOP 09, and only a small part of them support the Social Democrats (CSSD) who are the most popular party in the country, according to the simulated elections held at secondary schools in late April.
• May 03, 2010: Expatriates can participate in Czech elections abroad (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) Expatriates have had a chance to participate in Czech elections to the Chamber of Deputies, lower house of parliament, abroad twice - in 2002 and in 2006.
• May 03, 2010: 30% of young Czechs want to go to polls (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) Prague, April 30 (CTK) - A mere one third of young Czechs under 26 are interested in taking part in elections, daily Pravo writes Friday referring to a survey on youth's political awareness and participation Ipsos Tambor agency has conducted for the National Institute of Children and Youth.
• Apr 29, 2010: Catholic Church Lambasts Fiscal Profligacy Ahead of Czech Elections (The Wall Street Journal, 2010) Although most Czechs are agnostics, the Catholic Church in the Czech Republic, which has only 500,000 registered Catholics in a country of 10 million, has recently made headlines by siding with small right-leaning and fiscally frugal political parties. The unusual partners are rallying for fiscal spending cuts to prevent a Greek-style debt crisis in the future.
• Apr 29, 2010: Czech Republic: TOP 09 launches election campaign, promises moral revival (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) The Czech conservative TOP 09 started election campaign on 26th April, with party chairman Karel Schwarzenberg emphasising the need of a pension and health reforms, good education system, fight against corruption, the country's moral revival and a genuine rule of law.
• Apr 29, 2010: Czech Republic: Election Watch: Social Dems up in arms (The Prague Post, 2010) The largest donation in Czech political history came from an Austrian gun runner and nobody seems to care
• Apr 26, 2010: Czech CSSD would win elections with 7.5 percent lead on ODS -poll (Ceske Noviny, 2010) The Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD) would win Chamber of Deputies elections with 30 percent of the vote, according to an April election model by CVVM released today.
• Apr 12, 2010: Czech Republic: 26 parties to run in general elections in May (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) A total of 26 parties and movements will compete in the Czech May 28-29 general election, it ensues from the information of the regional authorities that closed parties' registration Friday.
• Apr 08, 2010: Czech Republic: PM offers ODS to tap unaffiliated nominee for minister (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) Czech PM Jan Fischer will propose that President Václav Klaus appoint the Civic Democratic Party's (ODS) candidate environment minister on condition the nominee is a politically unaffiliated expert, he said after meeting leaders of the ODS and the Social Democrats (CSSD) Tuesday.
• Apr 07, 2010: Campaign launched for gender 50/50 in Czech politics (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) The civic group Forum 50 % Tuesday launched a campaign for equal representation of men and women in Czech politics, director Jana Kavková told journalists.
• Apr 06, 2010: Czech press survey - April 6 (Ceské Noviny, 2010) The economic programme the new Czech conservative party TOP 09 offers to voters ahead of the May elections is almost identical with the plans presented by the rival Civic Democrats (ODS) and is thus quite unrealistic, Petr Kambersky writes in daily Lidove noviny today.
• Apr 06, 2010: Czech Republic: Former FBI officials to help ČSSD (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) Czech Social Democrats (CSSD) want to hire two former senior officials of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to battle corruption if they win the May elections, daily Pravo writes Tuesday.
• Apr 06, 2010: Czech Republic: David Cameron's Prague spring (Guardian, 2010) As a Czech party leader is forced to stand down over homophobic remarks, can we expect Tories to follow suit?
• Mar 31, 2010: Czech Civic Democrats to Reveal Election Strategy on April Fools’ Day (The Wall Street Journal, Blogs, 2010) Czech politician Mirek Topolanek will announce the long-term plans for his political party and his future in politics on, of all days, Thursday, April 1, also known as April Fools’ Day.
• Mar 31, 2010: Schroeder to back Czech Social Dems in campaign (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) Czech Social Democrats (CSSD) will be backed by their opposite numbers from Slovakia, Austria and Germany during the campaign for May elections in May, the party's election manager Jaroslav Tvrdik told journalists yesterday.
• Mar 31, 2010: Czech press survey - March 30 (ČeskéNoviny.cz, 2010) The current situation in the Czech Civic Democratic Party (ODS) will probably result in its rapprochement with the father-founder, President Vaclav Klaus, which may be beneficial for both sides, Martin Zverina writes in the daily Lidove noviny (LN) today.
• Mar 31, 2010: Czech press survey - March 29 (ČeskéNoviny.cz, 2010) The major problem of new Civic Democrat (ODS) election leader Petr Necas may not be the lack of charisma, the "real rub" lies in Mirek Topolanek who is not much willing to leave the post of ODS chairman, Jiri Leschtina writes in the daily Hospodarske noviny (HN) today.
• Mar 31, 2010: Analysts: ODS' future looks bleak ahead of elections (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) The future of the Czech Civic Democrats (ODS) is bad after their chairman Mirek Topolanek was forced to resign as election leader two months ahead the general election, political analysts that CTK addressed agreed.
• Mar 26, 2010: Analyst: ODS future is bad ahead Czech elections (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) The future of the Czech Civic Democrats (ODS) is bad after their chairman Mirek Topolanek was forced to resign as election leader two months ahead the general election, political analysts that CTK addressed agreed.
• Mar 26, 2010: PM's son leaves ODS over Topolanek's statements (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer's son wrote an open letter to Civic Democrat (ODS) chairman Mirek Topolanek, saying he is leaving the party over Topolanek's statements about Jews and homosexuals and about his father.
• Mar 26, 2010: Der Standard: ODS head is unacceptable, Czechs do not care (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) The words Czech Civic Democrat (ODS) chairman Mirek Topolanek said recently about the church, homosexuals and Jews are unacceptable and the politician should also be unacceptable, but the Czechs do not care, the Austrian daily Der Standard writes Thursday.
• Mar 26, 2010: Czech Voters Inclined to Back Opposition (Angus Reid Global Monitor, 2010) The Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD) remains the most powerful political group in the country, according to a poll by STEM. 27.9 per cent of respondents would vote for the main opposition party in the next legislative election, practically unchanged since February.
• Mar 26, 2010: Czech press survey - March 26 (ČeskéNoviny.cz, 2010) All major Czech dailies today comment on the meeting of the Civic Democrats (ODS) executive council that decided to choose a new election leader: Petr Necas instead of Mirek Topolanek. The council also called on Topolanek to step down as party chairman.
• Mar 26, 2010: Necas replaces Topolanek as ODS election leader (ČeskéNoviny.cz, 2010) Petr Necas replaced Mirek Topolanek as the election leader of the Czech Civic Democrats (ODS), the party´s executive council agreed today, two months ahead of the general election.
• Mar 26, 2010: ODS council calls on Topolanek to resign as party leader - CT (ČeskéNoviny.cz, 2010) The executive council of the Czech Civic Democrats (ODS) today called on Mirek Topolanek to step down as party chairman and ODS election leader in southern Moravia, the public Czech Television (CT) and news servers reported.
• Mar 26, 2010: Czech PM Fischer is weak, ODS head Topolanek says in press (ČeskéNoviny.cz, 2010) Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer is a weak prime minister, Civic Democrat (ODS) chairman Mirek Topolanek says in an interview for today´s issue of daily Hospodarske noviny.
• Mar 24, 2010: Topolanek remains Czech ODS head, apologises for utterances (ČeskéNoviny.cz., 2010) Mirek Topolanek remains Czech Civic Democrats (ODS) chairman and will lead the party in the May elections, he told journalists after the 12-hour meeting of the ODS leadership today, where he faced calls on him to resign over his recent controversial utterances.
• Mar 24, 2010: Czech ODS Rebounds, Narrows Gap with CSSD (Angus Reid Global Monitor, 2010) The Czech Republic’s Civic Democratic Party (ODS) has regained ground, according to a poll by CVVM. 25.5 per cent of respondents would vote for the ruling party in the next legislative election, up five points since February.
• Mar 24, 2010: Analysts: Change in leadership may help ODS (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) A change in the leadership and politics would help the Czech Civic Democratic Party (ODS), political analysts Jan Kubacek and Vladimira Dvorakova agreed Monday in connection with ODS chairman Mirek Topolanek's controversial statements on the church, Jews and homosexuals.
• Mar 24, 2010: Czech Senate head calls on Topolanek to leave ODS leadership (ČeskéNoviny.cz., 2010) Czech Senate head Premysl Sobotka (Civic Democrats, ODS) today called on ODS chairman Mirek Topolanek not to run in the May general election and to consider his resignation from the party's helm over his controversial statements on churches and homosexuals.
• Mar 24, 2010: ČSSD not to rule with Communists, minority govt possible (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) The Czech Social Democrats (CSSD) do not count with Communists in government after the end-May general election, but say a minority government is a possible variant if a centre-left coalition is not formed, CSSD chairman Jiri Paroubek said on Prima television Sunday.
• Mar 19, 2010: Election watch: ČSSD big on promises (The Prague Post, 2010) There is a proverb that goes, "Promises are like babies: easy to make, hard to deliver." Voters are well advised to keep this in mind in light of the mounting list of promises emanating from the Social Democratic Party (ČSSD), which wrapped its party congress March 14.
• Mar 19, 2010: Campaign financiers remain hidden (The Prague Post, 2010) Public has right to know contributors, says watchdog group. The country's largest political parties are accused of disguising financial reports in order to obscure their funding sources.
• Mar 17, 2010: HN: Voters an easy prey to ČSSD's promises (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) The pre-election strategy of Czech Social Democrat (CSSD) leader Jiri Paroubek scores success as voters simply tend to believe unrealistic promises, Petr Honzejk writes in the daily Hospodarske noviny (HN) yesterday.
• Mar 17, 2010: Poll: ČSSD, KSČM would assume majority in lower house (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) The Social Democrats (CSSD) would win elections with 27.9 percent of the vote, and along with the Communists (KSCM) command a majority in the Czech Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of parliament, shows a STEM poll conducted in March and released to CTK yesterday.
• Mar 17, 2010: Czech Social Democrats face challenges both from inside and outside (People's Daily Online, 2010) With ten weeks remaining to parliamentary elections, it seems quite sure that the Czech Republic would be ruled by Social Democrats for the next four years.
• Mar 17, 2010: ČSSD lays out plan on how to cut budget gap (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) The Czech Social Democrats (CSSD) plan to adopt measures to bring extra 41 billion crowns to the state budget and save 29 billion crowns, which will allow them to reduce the budget deficit and meet the promises they have given to the citizens, CSSD leader Jiri Paroubek said yesterday.
• Mar 17, 2010: ODS to start election campaign on Wednesday (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) The Czech Civic Democrats (ODS) plan to start their campaign ahead of the May 28-29 general election on Wednesday, party chairman Mirek Topolanek (ODS) said yesterday.
• Mar 17, 2010: Respekt: Election campaign avoids challenges (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) The Czech campaign ahead of the May general election avoids or ignores major topics despite the challenges the country is facing, such as the growing state debt, the need of various reforms and the crisis of the European Union, Marek Svehla writes in the weekly Respekt out yesterday.
• Mar 17, 2010: Czech press survey - March 15 (ČeskéNoviny.cz, 2010) Czech papers in unison comment on the Saturday programme conference of the Social Democrats that set out its objectives for the May general elections.
• Mar 12, 2010: Interior Minister to lead Prague ČSSD in elections (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) The Czech Social Democrats' (CSSD) branch in Prague Thursday chose Martin Pecina, interior minister in the caretaker cabinet, as its leader in the May elections, a step the rival Civic Democrats (ODS) previously warned against as violation of parties' agreement.
• Mar 11, 2010: New election law introduces quotas for women (Prague Daily Monitor, 2010) Quotas for women, at least 30 percent on the lists of candidates for parliament, are in the amendment to the election law, drafted by Czech Human Rights Minister Michal Kocab and released Wednesday.
more...