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Nečas to be named prime minister

President Václav Klaus has said he will name Civic Democrat leader Petr Nečas the country’s next prime minister on Monday. The president on Friday accepted the formal resignation of Jan Fischer’s caretaker cabinet, asking the outgoing government to remain in office until a new administration was in place. Speaking on commercial TV PRIMA on Sunday, Mr. Klaus said the new prime minister would have some time to put together a new centre-right cabinet before the start of a 30-day deadline by which the new government is bound to seek a confidence vote in Parliament. Civic Democrat leader Petr Nečas is in negotiations with two new parties TOP09 and Public Affairs on forming a centre right government. They are expecting to conclude negotiations by mid-July.

Public Affairs issues ultimatum

Public Affairs, one of the parties in talks on forming a new government, has threatened to walk out if it does not get the interior ministry portfolio. The party’s deputy Krystýna Kočí said on Sunday that being in charge of the interior ministry was one of the party’s absolute priorities in view of the fact that the fight against corruption was the mainstay of its policy programme. Public Affairs negotiator Vít Bárta confirmed the stand noting that so far there was only a 20 percent probability of his party entering the emerging coalition government.

Archbishop Duka to receive the pallium

The newly appointed Archbishop of Prague Dominik Duka is to visit the Vatican on Tuesday where the Pope will present him with a pallium, a vestment symbolizing the jurisdiction delegated to him by the Holy See. The former bishop of Hradec Kralove took over the Prague archdiocese on April 10th, replacing Miloslav Vlk who resigned on the grounds of advanced age. Archbishop Duka is seen as a man of consensus who may improve relations between the Church and state in the largely atheist Czech Republic. In May he put an end to an 18-year-long legal battle with the state over the ownership of St. Vitus Cathedral by withdrawing the Catholic Church’s property claim and accepting a proposal for joint administration.

President Klaus denies pushing ambassadorial nomination

President Klaus on Sunday denied having pushed the nomination of Civic Democrat deputy Vlastimil Tlustý for the post of ambassador in Kazachstan.

The allegation appeared in the weekly Respekt which said that the outgoing Foreign Minister Jan Kohout had sought to get the nomination approved by the Fischer cabinet at the direct intervention of the president. Mr. Klaus said on Sunday the weekly’s claim was utter nonsense and he had never made any attempt to meddle in ambassadorial nominations. Who will fill the post of ambassador to Kazachstan has been left to the new government to decide.

Former Social Democrat leader’s wife to tell all in new book

Petra Paroubková, the wife of former Social Democrat leader Jiří Paroubek, who resigned after the party’s poor showing in May’s general elections, has revealed that she is working on a book of political memoirs focusing on behind the scenes practices in Czech politics. Mrs. Paroubková, who works as an interpreter, said on a popular talk show that many politicians, journalists and businessmen had a surprise in store. She admitted that she was writing the book partly for the money it would bring, and also because she felt the public had a right to know what goes on behind the scenes in Czech politics. The book is expected to come out in the early autumn.

Statistics on migrants

The police uncovered over 4,400 illegal migrants on Czech territory in 2009, for the most part Ukranians, Vietnamese and Russians, according to an Interior Ministry report that the cabinet is due to receive on Monday. On the other hand the number of foreigners legally residing in the Czech Republic dropped for the first time since the year 2,000 by over 5,000 people. This is being ascribed to the economic crisis and fewer job opportunities. Seventy-five people were granted political asylum.

Czech police and firefighters searching for missing German

The police and firefighters in the border town of Cinovec are assisting their German colleagues in the search for a missing 19-year-old German youth whose car was found abandoned early on Sunday. The search is taking place in mountainous terrain with the aid of sniffer dogs and a helicopter.

Cold, rainy weather brings slump in beer sales

Beer producers say that sales of beer on tap in the past three months have dropped as compared to the same period last year due to the cold and rainy weather. Although no official statistics are out yet, some brewers say the drop is likely to be in two-digit numbers. Beer sales usually soar in late March, early April with the opening of outdoor eateries and garden restaurants. These outlets account for a third of overall beer sales.

Animated film sparks craze for plush Kooky teddy bears

Kooky the teddy bear, the hero of Jan Svěrák’s animated film which premiered in Prague in late May has sparked a craze for plush Kooky toys. Twenty-five thousand Kooky toys were put on the market within PR and the original toys are now only available through consumer competitions or at the film’s upcoming international premiere at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival. The CTK news agency reports that home-made Kooky toys are now being sold on the internet for as much as 1,000 crowns. The film’s Oscar-winning director says he doesn’t mind. If Kooky revived the tradition of home-made toys I can only be happy, he told the daily Lidové noviny. The film tells the story of a boy who imagines that his favorite toy, a red teddy bear named Kooky, goes on an adventurous journey after being tossed out by the boy’s mother.

Calf survives fall into dry well

A calf gone missing for three days was found trapped at the bottom of a four-meter deep dry well on Saturday sparking an unusual emergency operation. Firefighters called a vet out to the case before one of them descended to help the trapped animal, strapping it with a wide belt and ropes. After several hours the animal was safely lifted up. It was dehydrated and bruised but otherwise unhurt.

Weather

The coming days are expected to be hot and sunny with temperatures between 25 and 28 degrees Celsius.