Section Archive Current Affairs
New education minister inherits a difficult situation
The long-vacant post of Minister of Education, Youth and Sports has been
taken up by Petr Fiala, political scientist and former chancellor of
Masaryk University in Brno. Currently the science advisor to the prime
minister and a political independent, Dr Fiala has been roundly praised as
an excellent choice to lead a ministry facing an exceptional number of
hurdles. More
National Museum’s mystery boxes not to be subjected to CT-scan
Two massive wooden boxes, each weighing over 300 kilograms – that was
what the botanist and pharmacologist Bohuslav Jiruš left the National
Museum in his will some 100 years ago. The humungous mystery crates came
with one instruction: They should not be opened until 200 years after
Jiruš’s death –the year 2101. Now, the National Museum has published
the surprising result of its vote on whether its researchers should be
allowed to take a peak inside with computed tomography. More
Government wins confidence but its position weakens
The Czech government has survived a vote of confidence in the lower house
of Parliament. On Friday, 105 out of 198 deputies voted in its support. The
vote revealed that besides the Civic Democrat and TOP 09 parties, the
cabinet can also rely on those deputies who quit the Public Affairs party,
and at least three MPs who remained members of the former junior coalition
partner, which now sees itself as “constructive opposition”. But
despite the safe majority in the lower house, the centre-right cabinet
might now find it harder to push through some of its reforms bills,
according to analyst Jiří Pehe. More
Political analyst: corruption is like a cancer that destroys the working of the state
Addressing the lower house ahead of a confidence vote in his centre right
government on Friday Prime Minister Petr Necas asked deputies for support
in the interest of pressing ahead with key reforms which would lead to
stability and prosperity in the future. Professor Vladimira Dvorakova says
that before this objective can be achieved –by this government or any
other – the country will need to deal with its biggest problem:
corruption and a lack of political ethics. More
Learning Czech at UC Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley is one of 11 American universities
where students can study Czech language, literature and culture. Small but
dedicated groups of students grapple with the challenges of Czech grammar
and pronunciation in up to three classes per week. Despite budget cuts
throughout all departments of public universities in California, Czech, a
niche central European language, still has its place at the Department of
Slavic Languages and maintains enthusiasm amongst those eager to learn it.
More
Karolína Peake says her new political force is here to stay
Just two years ago the name Karolína Peake was known to few people outside
of the issue of playgrounds in Prague 1. Today she’s the keystone in the
fractured coalition government. Last week, the 36-year-old deputy prime
minister caused an upheaval in the government when she abandoned the junior
coalition party Public Affairs, of which she has been a member since 2007,
and took eight of the party’s MPs with her. The result of the split has
been the departure of Public Affairs from government to the opposition, and
a wafer-thin majority in Parliament for the centre-right reform parties.
That majority is based entirely on the newly emerging party around Mrs.
Peake, which at present can only be called the Public Affairs defectors. Is
this the start of a new political organisation with long-term goals, or a
quick fix intended to allow the government to ride out the next two years,
that’s the first question we put to Karolína Peake on Thursday. More
Legendary Pražský výběr returns
The legendary band Pražský výběr – one of the most influential bands
from the Czech New Wave – are back. Recently the group, led by frontman
Michael Kocáb announced they would put aside past differences and reunite
for a series of concerts in the autumn. More
Unions promise a protest that's going to hurt
Czech trade unions have decided that their show of force in mass
demonstrations needs muscle. The Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade
Unions says that tripartite negotiations with the government are over and
it’s time for a new protest which, as their chairman Jaroslav Zavadil
said, is going to hurt. More
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
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