Daily news summary

Hundreds protest against PM Babiš in Brno

Several hundred people gathered on Brno‘s main square on Saturday to protest against Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. Ondřej Zeman, from Steps Towards Democracy, which organized the event said that although the investigation of suspected EU subsidy fraud on the part of the prime minister had been halted, he still clearly had a conflict of interest.

Former constitutional court judge Eliska Wagnerova said that while Babiš may not have committed a crime under the laws of the time, his conduct was not ethically above-board and it was up to the public to decide whether such a man should lead the government.

Labour Ministry to ask OECD for help in pension reform

The Labour and Social Affairs Ministry will ask the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for an analysis of the Czech Republic’s pension system and a set of ensuing recommendations on reform which would make it sustainable long-term.

The study should be the basis of a government reform which could be concluded in 2021, the ministry said. Reforming the country’s pension system was one of the government’s stated policy priorities, but no plan for reform has so far been unveiled.

President Zeman presented with new Skoda Superb on his birthday

President Miloš Zeman will continue using Czech-made Skoda cars in office, the Office of the President reported.

On the occasion of the president’s 75th birthday on Saturday, Skoda Auto representatives presented the head of state with a new, third-generation Skoda Superb. He will also have a new SUV, a Kodiaq, at his disposal.

As Zeman posed for photographers in front of the new Skoda, he reiterated the view that a Czech president should ride in a car made in the Czech Republic.

Film director Jan Schmidt dies at 85

Film director Jan Schmidt has died at the age of 85, Czech Television reported citing family sources. Jan Schmidt directed sixteen films between 1960 and 1995, including Late August at the Hotel Ozone (1967),The Lanfier Colony (1969)and The Death of a Talented Cobbler (1983).The also cooperated on Miloš Forman’s Oscar-winning Amadeus.

Majority of Czechs who remember communism no longer willing to stand in line

The vast majority of Czechs who remember the communist days, say they would never again queue up to buy goods, according to a poll conducted by the agency STEM/MARK in connection with the upcoming 30th anniversary of the fall of communism.

Cues were a regular part of daily life in the communist days, and people stood in line for hours to get goods in short supply or even overnight to buy a colour TV or a car.

Seventy-two percent of respondents over 60 said they would no longer be willing to stand in line more than a few minutes for any kind of goods.

A poll conducted among respondents born after 1989 revealed that only 41 percent of respondents felt so strongly about standing in line. The majority of young people said they could image doing so for something they wanted badly.

Prskavec wins canoe slalom World Cup title

The Czech Republic’s Jiří Prskavec has won the World Cup title at the canoe slalom World Cup in Seu d'Urgell in Spain. The 26-year-old Czech finished almost two seconds ahead of his home rival David Llorento. Czech Vít Přindiš finished sixth, as did Tereza Fišerová in the women‘s race.

Weather forecast

Monday should be partly cloudy to overcast with rain and day temperatures between 15 and 19 degrees Celsius.