Social Democrats meet on Rip Hill

Hundreds of Social Democrats gathered at Central Bohemia's Rip Hill on Saturday for a meeting of party liners. In what has become tradition ahead of elections, they ceremoniously climbed up the hill where the first Czechs are believed to have settled. Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek and former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who is on a two-day visit, led the crowd. At the event, Mr Schroeder praised the ruling coalition Social Democrats for the country's large economic growth and said Mr Paroubek was a valuable party member and has been helping to increase their chances of winning the elections in June.

Mr Schroeder and the Hungarian and British Prime Ministers Ferenc Gyurcsany and Tony Blair are all planning to come to Prague towards the end of the election campaign to support the Social Democrats' efforts in winning another term in government. Social Democrat party liners first met on Rip Hill before the elections in 2002 to announce their party manifesto and launch the election campaign. They gathered there again in 2004 before the elections to the European Parliament.

Author: Dita Asiedu