Havel comes out against Klaus, Public Affairs and Bátora

Former president Václav Havel says he is disturbed by the attitude of President Klaus and the Public Affairs party towards the issue of ultra-right-winger Ladislav Bátora and his involvement with the Ministry of Education. Mr Havel told the daily Mladá fronta Dnes that he was struck by the party’s apparent opinion that an official could express semi-fascist or semi-anti-Semitic views outside the workplace. The former president, who has been out of the public eye for most of the year as he recovers from a lung ailment, further criticised the support that Mr Bátora enjoys in Prague Castle. Mr Bátora was formerly a candidate for an extreme nationalist party and is known for his far-right positions. President Václav Klaus has strongly backed his position at the Education Ministry.