Archive: Domestic affairs | Politics Politics
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
Education Minister Josef Dobeš resigns “over budget cuts”
The embattled Czech education minister, Josef Dobeš, has announced he will
step down. Mr Dobeš, who has come under severe pressure over a number of
issues including EU funds and his planned university reform, cited further
austerity measures as the reason. But observers point out that the minister
just seized the opportunity to resign before he would be forced out of
office. More
Pundit: Citizens’ initiative calling for resignation of government indicates a new level of public frustration
Thousands of people gathered for anti-government protests following a call
from the heterogeneous protest group Holešovská výzva, or Holešovská
appeal. Among their main demands is the resignation of the current
government – as well a new law that would introduce automatic referenda.
Analysts say that the demonstrations, which last week were held not only in
Prague, but also in cities across the country, could herald a new era of
escalating public frustration with the government’s policies and harsh
austerity measures. Political pundit Jiří Pehe speaks about the aims of
the new protest movement and its significance. 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
Trade union group fears that government cuts will weaken stagnant Czech economy
The Czech government is debating continued austerity measures, hoping to
save 23 billion crowns in 2012, 42.4 billion in 2013 and a whopping 84.4
billion in 2014. But the plans have been met with opposition from trade
unions, who are highlighting that the cuts could lead to as many as 24,000
public sector job losses and include layoffs of as many as 17,000 teachers
as well as 3,500 police officers within the next two years. Jaroslav
Zavadil, head of the Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions recently
called this “a path to hell, which will destroy the public sector.” 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
Scattered oversight: the gaping loopholes in Czech public servant conflict of interest laws
A recent study by the pro-civic engagement charity Oživení found that of
five hundred disclosure declarations lodged by Czech politicians – MPs,
Senators and local officials - roughly a quarter had errors or issues
worthy of further investigation. Critics suggest that the current system
simply is not working and with an array of authorities across the Czech
Republic tasked with examining conflict of interest declarations – some
admit that they do not even have the resources to fully check what public
servants have declared. In addition, there are numerous loopholes that
appear to make the system highly ineffective. Dominik Jůn spoke with
Vladan Brož, of Transparency International and began by asking whether he
thought the current system was working. More
Czech Parliament passes direct presidential elections
Czech citizens themselves will choose their next president in 2013 for the
first time in history. After years of public and partisan discussion, and
five final hours of heated debate on Wednesday, the Czech Senate passed a
Constitutional amendment allowing direct election of the head of state by
the people. As the current president, Václav Klaus, who called direct
elections a "fatal mistake", is unable to veto a constitutional
amendment, I asked political scientist Jan Outlý of the University of
Hradec Králové if anything at all can stop direct presidential elections
now. More
Deputies get off scot-free for breach of good manners
Is giving the finger to a fellow member of Parliament or calling him an
idiot acceptable? It is in the Czech Republic, at least according to MPs
themselves. The mandate and immunity committee of the lower house this week
dismissed two such cases, saying they would only resort to punishment if
the situation worsened. Radio Prague spoke to political analyst Karel
Müller from Prague’s University of Economics, and asked him whether we
should we come to accept such coarse behaviour. More
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