President reacts to Civic Democrats' election rout by saying voters have shown they want change

Czech President Václav Klaus has responded to last weekend’s Senate and regional elections by saying they send a ‘clear signal’ to politicians that voters are dissatisfied. Mr Klaus urged people to wait until the second round of voting this weekend before making their final judgments, but did say that the Civic Democratic Party, of which he is an honorary chairman, had paid dearly for voters’ apparent desire for change. The Civic Democrats went into the regional elections governing 12 of the country’s 13 regions. In last weekend’s vote they lost in all 13 regions to the opposition Social Democrats. The Social Democrats are also expected to make inroads into the Civic Democrats’ majority in the Upper House in the second round of voting for the Senate which will take place this weekend.

Author: Rosie Johnston