Politics & Economics

Czech President to Swear in New Government on Friday

The president of the Czech Republic is set to swear in the country’s new government on Friday. The prime minister-designate Petr Fiala announced President Milos Zeman´s decision to appoint his 18-member Cabinet after visiting the head of state at the presidential chateaux in Lany, west of Prague, on Monday. Two coalitions that collected a majority of support in the Oct 8-9 vote have signed a power-sharing deal to rule together led by Fiala as the premier, and he was sworn in on Nov 28. A three-party, liberal-conservative coalition known as Together, composed of the Civic Democratic Party, the Christian Democrats and the TOP 09 party, led the election with a 27.8% share of the vote. Together teamed up with a center-left liberal coalition made up of the Pirate Party and STAN – a group of mayors and independent candidates – which came in third place with 15.6% of votes. The new partnership holds 108 seats in the 200-seat lower house of Parliament, relegating populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis and his centrist ANO (YES) movement to the opposition. Babis narrowly lost the election with 27.1%. The five parties in the future governing coalition are closer to the European Union than the...

by Prague Morning Dec 14, 2021

President Zeman Rejects New PM’s Foreign Minister Nominee

Czech President Milos Zeman said on Friday he had rejected the nomination of a foreign minister in the incoming cabinet over the candidate’s reservations toward Israel and toward cooperation with other members in a central European alliance. Zeman said in a statement he was ready to appoint the rest of the cabinet but the rejection sets the stage for a legal battle with the new prime minister, Petr Fiala, leader of the centre-right Civic Democrats. Fiala has backed the foreign minister nominee, Jan Lipavsky, from the liberal Pirate Party, which is part of Fiala’s coalition that won an election in October. Zeman, who is not the head of the executive under the constitution but has frequently exerted pressure on cabinets, said Lipavsky lacked qualifications. Zeman said he was rejecting Lipavsky’s “distanced” stance on Israel and on the central European Visegrad group, whose fellow members Poland and Hungary have been at loggerheads with European partners over the rule of law. The Czech Republic has had strong ties with Israel and Fiala’s coalition pledged to hold that line. Lipavsky signed a letter alongside more than 400 other lawmakers from Europe in February in protesting Israel’s expansion of settlements in the West Bank....

by Prague Morning Dec 10, 2021

Czech Inflation Accelerates to New 13-Year High

Czech inflation accelerated to a fresh 13-year high in November, and while the acceleration was less pronounced than in the past four months, the central bank seemed likely to continue with policy tightening. Inflation in central Europe’s economies is running hotter than many European peers with external factors like supply problems and rising energy costs mixing with domestic drivers such as tight labour markets and strong wage growth. Central banks around the region have reacted with sharp rate rises, with Czech policymakers among the most aggressive, having delivered 200 basis points in hikes since September. Czech inflation data on Friday showed the headline rate rose to 6.0%, the highest level since October 2008. However, the growth from the previous month’s reading – 0.2 percentage points – slowed down after four months of steady acceleration. Analysts see the central bank raising interest rates further, in line with its outlook, as they point to the government’s waiver on value-added tax on energy as a factor preventing inflation from rising much stronger in November. “Inflation is more than 1 percentage point above the central bank’s forecast. The crown’s reluctance to strengthen also speaks in favour of monetary policy tightening,” Komercni Banka analyst Michal...

by Prague Morning Dec 10, 2021

Czech Central Bank Offers Pros and Cons of Adopting Euro Currency

The potential adoption of the euro would further increase the benefits resulting from Czech Republic’s trade links with the euro area countries, according to an analysis conducted by the Czech National Bank. On the other hand, Czech Republic’s adoption of the euro currency would bring risks arising from the loss of the Czech National Bank’s independent monetary policy and the stabilizing role of the koruna’s exchange rate. Czech’s central bank divided its assessment into three groups: low-risk, neutral and high-risk indicators for adopting the euro. The document points out that the economic level of the Czech Republic measured as GDP per capita in purchasing power parity approached the euro area average in 2020. However, the convergence of price and wage levels did not progress significantly. That is a factor against the early adoption of the euro. The Czech National Bank also pointed out to the role of the euro in Czech companies, which use the common currency more and more. Other low-risk indicators include the high level of economic activity of the Czech population and the low unemployment rate. The analysis considers, for example, the extent of financial intermediation, private sector indebtedness, and the structure of financial assets and liabilities of non-financial corporations...

by Prague Morning Dec 09, 2021

Czech Future Government to Cancel Mandatory Vaccination

The future government said it will immediately cancel the current health ministry’s measures for mandatory COVID-19 vaccination from March 2022 for people over 60 and doctors, nurses and police officers as soon as it assumes power. It said it would do so immediately after it assumes power. “The future health minister will cancel this order, we do not agree with that,” said Marian Jurečka, leader of KDU-ČSL party (EPP) that is expected to be part of the future governing coalition. According to Jurečka, the current caretaker government has not used all the available tools to motivate people to get vaccinated. “We will not impose mandatory vaccination for specific age groups. Regarding certain professions, we want to hear from representatives of the unions,” Jurečka told Czech Television. The future government is worried that police officers, healthcare professionals and other crucial workers would quit their job rather than get vaccinated. Still, the caretaker government is convinced that such a step is necessary in the current situation. According to the current Social Affairs Minister Jana Maláčová, the plan of the future government to cancel the mandatory vaccination order is “boundless populism”. “In social services, vaccination against hepatitis is mandatory, but against COVID, it...

by Prague Morning Dec 06, 2021

Outgoing Czech Government to Order Vaccine Mandate for 60+

The outgoing Czech government is planning to order a vaccine mandate for people aged 60 and over and for some professional groups, Health Minister Adam Vojtech said on Friday. But it’s unclear whether the measure will be enforced by his successor. Vojtech said his ministry will issue the order next week making vaccination mandatory for the 60 plus age group, as well as medical personnel, police officers, firefighters and medical students. The order would be meant to become effective in March – but it might not work out like that. Prime Minister Andrej Babis’ current administration will be soon replaced by a new government formed by five parties that won October´s parliamentary election, led by Prime Minister designate Petr Fiala. The new government is expected to formally assume its responsibilities later this month. The coalition, and its designated health minister, Vlastimil Valek, oppose a vaccination mandate for the elderly and can cancel it as soon as it takes power. So far, only 59.6% of Czechs have been fully vaccinated. According to the latest poll released on Friday, almost 20% of Czechs are against vaccination. The infection rate was 1,135 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days on...

by Prague Morning Dec 04, 2021

Youth Work and the Czech Republic: a Winner Relationship

Eurostat published at the beginning of November, data about the general and youth unemployment for September 2021 in both the Eurozone and the European Union. Eurostat, based on ILO (International Labour Organisation) definitions, specify unemployed persons all those people aged between 15 and 74 who: – are without work; – are available to start work within the next two weeks; – and have actively sought employment during the previous four weeks; The unemployment rate is an indicator that measures the numbers of unemployed people as a percentage of the labor force. The labor force is defined as the total number of unemployed people plus those in employment. The youth unemployment rate is defined as the number of people aged between 15 and 24 as a percentage of the labor force of the same age. In September 2021, the euro area recorded an unemployment rate of 7.4%, down from 7.5% in August 2021 and 8.6% in September 2020. On the other hand, the European Union recorded an unemployment rate of 6.7% in September 2021, down from 6.9% in August 2021 and 7.7% in September 2020. Regarding youth unemployment, in September 2021, 2.815 million under-25s were unemployed in the EU and 2.307...

by Prague Morning Dec 03, 2021

Petr Fiala: Who is the Czech Republic’s New Prime Minister

Petr Fiala, who was appointed Czech prime minister on Sunday, is a James Bond fan who entered politics after becoming the country’s first political science professor following the fall of communism. The bespectacled, bearded man who carefully guards his privacy is on the biggest mission of his life after leading the centre-right Together alliance to a narrow election win in October. “I am James Bond in fact,” he once went so far as to say in an interview. “Bond can shoot well and so can I. He also speaks many languages and is well-educated, and I hope I fulfill that too,” Fiala said. Together — Fiala’s right-wing Civic Democrats (ODS), the smaller centrist Christian Democrats and centre-right TOP 09 parties — defeated the populist ANO movement of outgoing billionaire prime minister Andrej Babis. “We have brought the Czech Republic a chance for a better future. This is a change, we are a change, you are a change,” Fiala told his supporters after the vote. Fiala, a 57-year-old literature fanatic and former amateur footballer, started out in politics as a science adviser to the prime minister in 2011 and then a year later became education minister. He only became a lawmaker...

by Prague Morning Nov 29, 2021

Babiš Says He May Run for President

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) has admitted that he is considering the possibility of running in the 2003 presidential elections. In response to a question on his Facebook page, however, he said his decision would depend on whether he received a sufficient number of citizens’ signatures. Under Czech law, a candidate needs to receive the necessary support from lawmakers (at least 10 senators or 20 lower house deputies) or citizens (at least 50,000 signatures). The ANO party has 72 seats in the Chamber, so fulfilling that condition would not present a problem. “President Zeman would like me to run for the post,” Babiš said last week, adding that the ANO movement wants to have a candidate for the presidential elections. Zeman is confident that he will be able to serve the rest of his term until 2023, despite his unstable health conditions: “I assume that I will fulfill my duties for a year and a half and then I will retire as a happy pensioner,” he said in the interview. Among other potential candidates, bookmakers have singled out General Petr Pavel, former chairman of the NATO military committee, as well as former presidential hopeful Jiri Drahos, Pavel Fischer, and ex-Prime Minister...

by Prague Morning Nov 20, 2021

Marriott Hotel in Prague Refused to Host Uyghur Conference, Citing “Political Neutrality”

The Marriott hotel in Prague declined to host a conference of activists and leaders from China’s Uyghur diaspora this month, citing “political neutrality,” an email shared with Axios shows. Why it matters: The Chinese government has condemned the World Uyghur Congress, which has attempted to rally global attention to the genocide in Xinjiang, China. The decision to reject the conference reflects China’s growing ability to extend authoritarian control beyond its borders by making clear to corporations that crossing the party’s red lines will be bad for business. The World Uyghur Congress consists mainly of Uyghurs living in exile and advocates for the rights of those who remain in the Xinjiang region in western China, where upwards of one million people have been held in internment camps. About 200 delegates from 25 countries gathered in Prague from Nov. 12-14 to elect the organization’s new leadership and hold discussions with politicians, academics and civil society representatives from around the world. The Prague Marriott Hotel declined to host the conference. Melissa Froehlich Flood, Marriott’s senior vice president for global corporate communications, told Axios the hotel would be “contacting the group to apologize, as the hotel’s response was not consistent with our policies.” How it...

by Prague Morning Nov 20, 2021

Václav Klaus: Communism Wasn’t Defeated, It Collapsed

“The fall of communism had a global character. Neither our students nor our dissidents defeated communism. Instead, it collapsed like any similar ill-conceived attempt to suppress human freedom by force,” said former Czech President Václav Klaus. At the Hlávka’s dormitory, where the Nazis arrested students on Nov. 17, 1939, and took them to a concentration camp, Klaus said that trampling on the memory of brave students 50 years later had become the last straw. “We, to whom Nov. 17, 1939, has never ceased to speak to, we who have actively experienced the events of November 1989, we begin to worry that times that we thought could never return are coming back,” said Klaus, who is a strong critic of coronavirus measures. Klaus said that today, a utopia is being imposed on people again, which claims to be based on science. “Again, in the name of the alleged higher goals, the freedom of the individual is to be sacrificed. As in the sad times of the past, present generations are asked for sacrifices that would allegedly hinder the epidemic and help the rise of temperature on our planet in a few centuries,” he noted. Klaus has also been known for rejecting theories...

by Prague Morning Nov 18, 2021

Czech Election Winner Fiala to be Appointed Prime Minister on Nov 26

Czech President Milos Zeman will appoint centre-right opposition leader Petr Fiala as the new prime minister on Nov. 26 following last month’s election, Fiala said after meeting the president on Wednesday. The Together group led by Fiala and a coalition of the progressive Pirate Party and the centrist Mayors won a parliamentary majority in the Oct 8-9 vote and pledged to replace the outgoing government of Prime Minister Andrej Babis. The new administration will take power amid a renewed surge in Czech coronavirus infections, which on Tuesday hit an all-time daily high of over 22,000. Babis said on Wednesday the government would bar non-vaccinated people from access to public events and services from next week. Fiala, 57, a political science professor and leader of the centre-right Civic Democrats since 2014, said his team would reveal its own proposals to fight the pandemic. A spokesman for Zeman, who has been in hospital since Oct. 10, said the president expected to be discharged soon and confirmed the Nov. 26 date. Fiala told reporters he expected the full cabinet to be appointed within three weeks. He said the new team would cut the 2022 budget deficit, currently projected at 377 billion crowns ($16.91...

by Prague Morning Nov 17, 2021

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