Archive: Domestic affairs | Politics Politics
Immunity Committee votes unanimously to strip Rath of immunity
The Parliamentary Committee on Mandates and Immunity on Tuesday voted
unanimously to recommend MP David Rath be stripped of immunity and
prosecuted for corruption. After a two-hour meeting with Dr Rath, and
studying part of the police evidence against him, the parliamentarians were
unconvinced of his claims of a conspiracy against him and his not knowing
he had received a box full of bribery money. Many of them shared new
details of the arrest, evidence and the condition of the fallen governor
himself. More
Defiant David Rath remains in police custody
As Czechs are slowly digesting the shocking case of the Social Democrat
politician David Rath, more details emerge about his arrest and the crime
he allegedly committed. The opposition MP and governor of Central Bohemia
was arrested on Monday with seven million crowns in his possession. While
Mr Rath maintains his innocence, he has been charged with corruption, and
remains in detention. More
Prominent Social Democrat MP charged with corruption
One of the most prominent figures of the opposition Social Democratic
party, MP and Central Bohemian governor David Rath has been charged with
corruption. Mr. Rath was arrested on Monday night along with seven other
people in a large-scale police operation that is believed to be linked to
abuse of EU funds. More
Efforts to regulate lobbying won’t achieve much, says lobbyist James de Candole
Czech lawmakers have been consistently criticized for being prone to
lobbying, for instance when it comes to the regulation of gambling,
roadside advertising and smoking in public spaces. As part of its efforts
to clamp down on corruption, the Czech government is now working on a bill
that should regulate lobbying. If approved, this law would define lobbying
and require lobbyists to register. RP discussed the proposed legislation
with James de Candole, a Prague-based consultant and lobbyist, who believes
it will bring no significant improvements. More
Czech parties struggle with first ever presidential primaries
Less than a year before Czechs take to the polls to directly elect their
president for the first time in history, some of the major political
parties have begun choosing their candidates. However, both the ruling
Civic Democrats and the opposition Social Democrats seem to struggle with
the process: the former party’s most hopeful candidate quit the race
before it even began, while one of the latter party’s picks is hesitant
to run for them. Commentator Erik Best says this reflects the parties’
mixed feelings about direct presidential elections in the first place. More
Farmers announce protests over plans to slash diesel tax rebates and new wine tax
The Czech Republic will see another round of protests against the
government’s austerity measures. Agriculture industry leaders on
Wednesday announced they would block roads and slow traffic in protest of
plans to cancel tax rebates on diesel for agricultural firms, and a planned
introduction of a tax on wine. More
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
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
Head of STEM polling agency: Czechs are ashamed of their politicians
Half-way through the government’s term in office Czechs are so fed up
with political infighting and corruption scandals that 80 percent of them
now support early elections. For this week’s Panorama I spoke to Jan
Hartl head of the STEM polling agency about the mood of the public, what
people think of Czech politicians and whether the developments of the past
few months have robbed them of any illusions they may have had regarding
politics. More
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