Topic Archive Domestic affairs
Leading economist on austerity package: public sector still squandering money
The Finance Minister’s austerity plan for 2013, which includes
far-reaching measures to increase state revenues and cut public spending,
has raised an outcry from the opposition benches with the leader of the
opposition Social Democrats Bohuslav Sobotka saying his party would table a
vote of no-confidence in the three-party centre-right coalition. More
Students continue protests over university reform proposals
The student protests that formed a key component of the 1989 Velvet
Revolution serve as a stark reminder, even more than twenty years later,
that the imagery of any Czech government upsetting its student population
is going to create a major headache. Recent reforms proposed by the Czech
Education Ministry under Josef Dobeš have achieved just that. Students are
crying foul, with banners draped in universities across the country
accusing the government of putting profits before education. This week,
many Czech students have taken matters a step further with a self-titled
“Week of protests” against the legislation. Tuesday sees students
attending countless workshops and debates while protests marching on the
offices of the Czech government are scheduled for Wednesday. Dominik Jůn
spoke to Charles University student Matouš Turek, one of organizers of the
protests, and began by asking Turek to explain the background behind the
controversial legislation: More
Change of guard at High State Attorney’s Office in Prague in drawn-out battle for control of decisive post
The change of guard at the High State Attorney’s Office in Prague has
sent reverberations across the political spectrum and has raised concerns
regarding the independence of the Czech judiciary. Vlastimil Rampula,
Prague Chief Prosecutor who was sacked last July on suspicion that he had
been holding up key corruption investigations returned in triumph on
Wednesday to reclaim his post after the Prague Municipal Court ruled that
his dismissal was not sufficiently justified. 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
Pundit: battle over control of High State Attorney’s Office in Prague decisive for country’s democratic development
The battle over who should head the High State Attorney’s Office in
Prague and the implications of the return of the office’s old-new head
Vlastimil Rampula are very much at the centre of media attention. Radio
Prague asked commentator Jiří Pehe for his interpretation of the affair. More
Government moves to give crime victims more support and greater protection
Being a crime victim can be a shattering experience and many who have
personally experienced it say that reporting the incident and the
investigation that follows can be equally agonizing. At the present time
there is no code of conduct specifying how the police or state attorneys
should treat crime victims and critics say their conduct often leaves much
to be desired. The Czech government has now moved to correct that approving
an amendment to the law which would give crime victims more support and
greater protection. More
EU human rights court rules Czech state denied Kinský fair trial in property restitution case
The European Court of Human Rights denounced the Czech state for having
denied a fair trial to František Oldřich Kinský, an Austrian aristocrat
who sued the country over his property claims. The court said that Mr
Kinský, who passed away nearly three years ago, had been subjected to
abusive treatment by the Czech authorities when he sued to get back family
property worth around 40 billion crowns. 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
MPs complete legislation aimed at legalizing cannabis for medical purposes
A group of Czech MPs from all of the parties in the Chamber of Deputies has
completed legislation which could legalise the use of cannabis in the Czech
Republic for medical purposes. Currently, thousands of sufferers from
debilitating diseases such as Parkinson’s, Lyme borreliosis and multiple
sclerosis, have been forced to break the law to obtain marijuana to help
ease their pain, a situation which could soon change if the bill passes in
the lower house. According to reports, the medical use of cannabis in the
Czech Republic could be legal within the year. More
Czechs keep their options open in Brussels
After much controversy at home on whether the Czech Republic should join
the euro-zone’s emerging fiscal compact, the Czech government delegation
headed for Monday’s key EU summit in Brussels determined to keep its
options open. In the midst of continuing discord on the subject, there is
just one thing Czech politicians heartily agree on – they want to have a
finger in the pie. More
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