Daily news summary

Pirates would challenge government without confidence vote

The Pirates party has said that it would not tolerate a government without confidence ruling the country for a longer period and would file a complaint with the Constitutional Court.

Party leader Ivan Bartoš made the statement in response to President Zeman’s words that a government without confidence was better than early elections. The claim drew a negative response from all parties including one from election winner Andrej Babiš from the ANO party who said he would not want to govern without a vote of confidence for four years.

Czech human rights record under scrutiny

The Czech Republic’s human rights record will come under scrutiny at the United Nations on Monday. The Universal Periodic Review, through which each UN member country is examined once every five years, will allow governments to review the Czech Republic‘s human rights record and make recommendations for improvements.

According to a government report the Czech Republic received 136 recommendations for improvements five years ago and fulfilled 129 of them.

Jiří Pospíšil nominated for TOP 09 leader

The Prague branch of the centre-right TOP 09 party has nominated MEP Jiří Pospíšil for party leader at the party’s election conference in November.

Pospíšil, who recently joined the party’s ranks, received support from 77 percent of delegates. It is hoped that Pospíšil will help revive the party in the wake of its poor showing in October’s general elections.

The party’s current leader Miroslav Kalousek has said he will accept responsibility for the party’s defeat and not run for re-election.

Topolánek may enter race for president

Former prime minister Mirek Topolánek may enter the race for president, the news site novinky.cz reported .According to the news site Topolánek is seeking to gain support from the Civic Democratic Party’s ten senators, the precise number of signatures he would need for his candidacy.

Topolánek himself has neither confirmed this possibility, nor ruled it out, saying he would decide in the next few days. The deadline for registering in the presidential race is Tuesday, November 7th. There are currently 12 candidates in the running, including the incumbent head of state Miloš Zeman.

Pharmacists demand fair financing

Pharmacists are demanding changes in the system of financing according to which they are paid. The head of the Association of Pharmacists Lubomír Chudoba says that the Czech Republic is one of the few remaining countries in the EU where the income of a pharmacy depends on how expensive medicines it sells. He points out that this in unfair to both pharmacists and patients.

Pharmacists are demanding fixed supplementary charges for medicines, a change in financing which would reflect the services provided rather than the cost of medicines sold and set rules governing the establishment of new pharmacies.

Thousands of visitors admire newly-renovated state rooms at Prague Castle

Close to 15,000 people visited Prague Castle in the past two days to admire newly-renovated state rooms which are normally off-limits to the public.

Prague Castle offered special tours on Friday and Saturday which took visitors to the former offices of presidents T.G.Masaryk and Edvard Beneš as well as the Coronation Hall where the president appoints ministers and receives ambassadors.

Visitors also gained admission to the dining hall used by former heads of state and could admire the authentic porcelain sets and silverware used on special occasions.

Weather forecast

Monday should be partly cloudy to overcast with scattered showers and day temperatures between 5 and 9 degrees Celsius.