Archive: Domestic affairs | Political parties Political parties
Analyst: early elections not to advantage of any of the coalition parties
The latest flare-up between Public Affairs and the two senior parties Civic
Democrats and TOP 09 appears to have taken the continued existence of the
centre-right cabinet to the very brink. Are we close to early elections or
did the smallest party in government, in trying to gain concessions, simply
overplay its hand? More
Public Affairs put themselves and the government on the edge of collapse
The Czech government is teetering on collapse as the junior coalition
party, Public Affairs, has said it will pull out unless a number of major
concessions are met. Reactions to the demands from its coalition partners
were no less than furious, and even if the party backs down - as it has on
similar occasions – it seems that either the coalition or Public Affairs
itself will soon collapse under the tension. Christian Falvey has this
report: More
Public Affairs: new education minister will need manoeuvring room in face of difficult tasks
Finding a successor to outgoing Education Minister Josef Dobeš, who
resigned over planned budget cuts at the ministry, is seeing delays and
most definitely will not be sorted by the end of the month. The Public
Affairs party, headed by Radek John, wants assurances that Dobeš’
successor won’t be without options – arguing that extra funds should be
found so that teacher salaries are untouched. By contrast, others within
the centre-right coalition charge there is plenty of room within the
Education Ministry to save; in their view, slashing teachers’ salaries
should be far from necessary. More
Embattled former mayor suspends party membership
Former Prague mayor and MP Pavel Bém, of the Civic Democratic Party, has
heeded calls from fellow members to suspend his party membership. In a
written statement issued on Monday evening, Mr Bém confirmed he would take
the step in the wake of the on-going “lobbying scandal” that has raised
serious questions about his tenure. More
Controversial Prague lobbyist charged with bodily harm; may face further charges connected to wire tap scandal
Prague police have charged the controversial lobbyist Roman Janoušek with
menacing behaviour due to intoxication as well as grievous bodily harm. On
Friday, Mr Janoušek crashed his Porsche into another car in Prague 4, then
hit its driver as he attempted to flee. The news came as the construction
tycoon already found himself in the headlines due to scandal over leaked
wire taps of conversations between him and former mayor of Prague Pavel
Bém. More
Bárta trial adjourns after an ugly week
The first round of the trial of leading Public Affairs member and former
transport minister Vít Bárta comes to a close on Friday. Over the course
of the week no less than six past and present government ministers have
taken the stand to give testimony in the biggest corruption case in recent
memory, which will be adjourned on Friday while the court goes over the
evidence. More
De-facto leader of Public Affairs stands trial for corruption
The junior coalition party Public Affairs, which won seats in Parliament on
a strong-anti-corruption agenda, is facing a major test of its credibility.
The party’s de facto leader, former transport minister and present head
of the party’s parliamentary group in the lower house Vít Bárta is
standing trial on charges of corruption. The court hearings which began on
Monday will hear testimony from ministers and MPs and the outcome of the
much anticipated trial could shake the party in its foundations. More
Czechs deeply divided on EU’s fiscal union
The question whether or not the country should join the emerging EU fiscal
union has divided Czech politicians and appears to be fraught with
problems. While one governing party is in favour of an emphatic “yes”,
and the country’s eurosceptic president has already voiced an emphatic
“no”, everything points to the fact that Czechs will continue to sit on
the fence for as long as possible. More
Czech foreign minister says he’ll walk out if Czechs do not join EU fiscal union
No sooner was the government dispute over church restitutions resolved, the
Czech government is racked by a new crisis. The leader of TOP 09, Foreign
Minister Karel Schwarzenberg has made it clear that unless the Czech
Republic joins the emerging European fiscal union his party would walk out
of the coalition government. This latest ultimatum has brought to a head a
long-simmering dispute in Czech foreign policy. More
Public Affairs told to accept restitution deal or leave government
Cracks in the three-party governing coalition appeared again this week, as
the junior Public Affairs party resisted approval of a church property
restitution deal. For the senior Civic Democratic and TOP 09 parties, the
deal is a major achievement that has been years in the making. When Public
Affairs, which questions aspects of the agreement, attempted to put
conditions on its support, the response was clear: approve the deal or
leave the government. More
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