Section Archive Current Affairs
Political analyst: centre-right parties may self-destruct
Although opinion polls indicate that the vast majority of Czechs would like
to see early elections, embattled Prime Minister Petr Nečas has decided to
try and weather the latest crisis and will ask the lower house for a vote
of confidence in his government on Friday. Amidst speculation that he may
end up with a razor sharp majority, political analysts are questioning the
wisdom of trying to hold onto power at any cost. Radio Prague spoke to
Jiři Pehe about the repercussions this might have but - first and foremost
- the legitimacy of this new political set-up. More
Centre-right coalition faces confidence vote following departure of Public Affairs
The ruling coalition that won an unprecedented majority in the last
elections is a thing of the past. On Tuesday, the Public Affairs party,
decimated by the recent departure of a number of former members, left the
government. The centre-right cabinet now faces a vote of confidence to test
the strength of its support in the lower house. More
Thousands call on government to step down
This weekend saw thousands join an anti-government protest in Prague
calling for an end to the current government and its reform policies, which
critics call unnecessarily strict. The trade union-led demonstration saw as
many as 100,000 people come out - with the promise that unless the
government paves the way for early elections, protests will only be more
intense. More
Czech government’s future remains uncertain after party split
The fate of the centre-right Czech government hangs in the balance after
the junior coalition party Public Affairs split up, robbing the government
of its comfortable majority in the lower house. The newly emerging
pro-government faction around defector Karolína Peake is now trying to
rally enough deputies to secure a viable majority in the lower house, but
the key players on the Czech political scene are already preparing for
early elections. More
Prague conference explores role of culture in diplomacy
This Thursday saw the hosting of a Culture Plus event at Prague’s
Černín Palace, co-organised by the Czech Foreign Ministry. On the table
was the topic Culture & Diplomacy – namely how culture, including the
arts, can be used to promote greater communication and understanding. More
Kupka’s Shape of Blue sets new Czech art auction record
On Wednesday night, The Shape of Blue, a painting by abstract artist
František Kupka, sold for 55.75 million crowns at auction – setting a
new Czech art auction record. The impressive final sum came as a surprise
even to the director of Adolf Loos Aprtment & Gallery, which organized
the auction. What significance does this latest record have for the
domestic art market, and what makes this work of Kupka’s special? We
spoke to Jan Skřivánek, the editor-in-chief of art + antiques. More
Domestic vintners outraged over planned introduction of wine tax
In its ongoing effort to find ways of lowering the state budget deficit,
the Czech government has announced that it is planning to introduce a new
tax on wine. The country’s winemakers are enraged and believe that this
step will lower the competitiveness of domestic vintners, while giving
foreign producers an edge on the Czech market. More
Peake quits Public Affairs
Influential politician Karolína Peake dropped a political bombshell late
Tuesday when she announced that she was leaving the smallest party in
government to found a new faction. The move has cast doubt on whether the
centre-right coalition still has a majority in the lower house needed to
govern. More
Pirate Parties in Prague set sails for Europe-wide political success
Cue: Pirates of the World, Unite! – that was the message at this
weekend’s Pirate Party International meeting in Prague, the third in the
organisation’s history and the first in the Czech capital. What started
as a Swedish protest movement against the criminalisation of file-sharing
has grown into a tangible political body, setting its sights on
continent-wide success in the 2014 European Parliament elections. More
Pundit: Public Affairs has no future with or without Vít Bárta
The leadership of the junior coalition party Public Affairs is meeting to
debate the outcome of last week’s trial in which the party’s informal
leader Vít Bárta was found guilty of bribery. Although Mr. Bárta had
promised to pull out of high politics if he did not clear his name, he now
says he’ll keep his seat in the lower house and he thus remains a member
of the party’s deputies’ club. Radio Prague asked commentator Jiří
Pehe for his thoughts on how this latest development may impact the
government’s future and who is now actually running the smallest party in
government. More
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