On the eve of the Czech general election this weekend, opposition parties received a surprise present: among the worldwide Pandora Project’s leaked files was evidence that the PM Andrej Babiš had hidden his acquisition of a French chateau through a web of offshore companies. The only question is, can the opposition make use of it effectively? The bombshell dropped just hours before the start of a major TV Prima debate on Sunday evening between four of the party leaders, at which the new scandal was chosen as the first topic. The Slovak-born businessman was clearly flustered – he kept peering through his owlish glasses at a sheaf of papers, and his statements were littered with grammatical mistakes. He denied any wrongdoing and alleged that the whole international Pandora Project was somehow a “mafia” conspiracy to ruin his chances at the election. Babiš says he has proof that he paid tax on the money used to buy the chateau, though he has yet to furnish any. Nor has he explained why he used such a convoluted structure to hide the acquisition if it was all above aboard. The revelations are now being investigated by Czech police. “Babiš must prove that he used taxed money for...
Support for the ruling ANO party dropped ahead of an election on Oct. 8-9 but the main opposition groups were still short of a majority in parliament, a final survey ahead of the vote showed on Monday. The poll by the Median agency for Mlada Fronta Dnes newspaper conducted between Sept. 23-29 showed Prime Minister Andrej Babis’s ANO at 25.2%, down from 27.0% in August. Median was the third agency that recorded a drop in support for ANO in the past weeks. It however also showed the two main opposition blocs that have pledged to work together to oust ANO from power — the centre-right SPOLU (Together) and the liberal Pirates/Mayors — polling 40.3% between them, or 0.6% less than ANO when it is combined with two other parties that would win seats. The Monday survey would put ANO in pole position to form a new cabinet but would it make it difficult to find a majority in parliament without breaking the mainstream opposition parties’ pledge not to work with Babis, or turning to anti-European and anti-NATO parties for support. Babis has ruled since 2018 with the Social Democrats (CSSD) in a minority government that has been supported in parliament...
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has used offshore firms to finance his purchase of a £13m mansion in the south of France, suggest the so-called Pandora Papers, leaked documents that have been shared by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists with media around the world on Sunday. The five-bedroom Chateau Bigaud, with its 9.4 acres, is nestled between medieval ruins and lush forests. It is a hidden gem of Mougins, the hilltop village where Picasso spent the last 12 years of his life. As of January, public records showed that the chateau belonged to a subsidiary of one of the Czech companies indirectly owned by Babis. At the time Babiš acquired the property, the Czech press was beginning to report that his giant conglomerate was the secret owner of a luxury resort south of Prague that may have improperly obtained millions of dollars in European Union subsidies intended for small businesses. EU authorities would later find “irregularities” in the way Babis’ company had obtained the funds. Babiš’ ownership of the French chateau and the offshore transactions that obscured his involvement haven’t been disclosed previously. There is no evidence that the chateau’s purchase is linked to the subsidy. But the purchase of Chateau...
Representatives of eight parties running for the Chamber of Deputies met on Sunday evening in a pre-election debate on CNN Prima News, however, the leader of the coalition of Pirates and the Mayors and Independents (STAN) movement, Ivan Bartoš, was missing and replaced by the head of STAN, Vít Rakušan. The heated debate saw the candidates clash over the country’s pandemic response and the state of emergency, while the topic of remaining in the European Union was also addressed. Where is the Pirates‘ leader? In the debate, the head of the ANO movement and Prime Minister Andrej Babiš asked the chairman of STAN Vít Rakušan the location of the leader of the coalition of Pirates and STAN, Ivan Bartoš. “Why isn’t Bartoš here? You are two candidates for prime minister from one coalition, I guess,“ said the prime minister. The debate on CNN Prima News was called “Czechia is Looking for a Prime Minister”. Bartoš is the coalition’s official candidate for the prime minister. “We are a coalition of two leaders. We don’t have an owner and Mr. Bartoš faced you in the debate on Friday,“ Rakušan responded. In addition, a Sunday survey by Kantar showed that the Pirates had fallen...
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis’s ANO party’s lead narrowed in the latest opinion poll conducted ahead of next month’s general elections. Although ANO would garner most votes, no single party or coalition is likely to win an outright majority, according to the survey of 1,200 people carried out on Sept. 13-22 by pollster Kantar and published by Czech Television on Sunday. The Social Democrats, ANO’s current minority coalition partner, wouldn’t clear the 5% threshold needed for representation in the lower chamber of parliament, the poll showed. The Czech Republic is due to hold the elections on Oct 8-9. The Kantar poll’s margin of error ranges from 1 percentage points for small parties to 3.2 percentage points for the biggest. The following is a table of the latest election models published by select polling agencies. Note: The Kantar poll was commissioned by Czech Television, while the August and September STEM surveys were commissioned by CNN Prima News. The months denote the period when the surveys were conducted. The coalition Spolu (Together) consists of the center-right Civic Democrats, TOP 09 and the Christian Democrats. The SPD is the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy party.
The far-right SPD party, which may play a role in forming a new Czech government next month, would demand the cabinet propose legislation that could lead to a referendum on leaving the European Union, party chief Tomio Okamura said on Wednesday. Prime Minister Andrej Babis’s ANO is likely to win the largest share of the vote in a Oct. 8-9 election but may struggle to form a majority as its current partners are polling at or below the 5% threshold to enter parliament. Two main opposition groups refuse to enter a government with Babis due to what they say are his conflicts of interests as the founder of a business empire. That may make Okamura’s anti-European and anti-NATO SPD, or Freedom and Direct Democracy, a partner in the talks, which ANO has not ruled out. Opinion polls put the party’s support at around 10%. Okamura said a pledge to propose a law on holding referendums, currently not possible, would be his price. Should such legislation be introduced, it would likely allow for a citizens’ petition to propose a vote, meaning Okamura could help organise one. “One of the fundamental conditions is for the government manifesto … to include a referendum law...
Czechs are sceptical on the issue of adopting the euro, meaning it is certainly not the main topic of this year’s elections. The latest survey by the Centre for Public Opinion Research of the Academy of Sciences showed that the introduction of the euro as currency instead of the crown is supported by less than a quarter (24%) of Czech citizens, with 69% opposing it. Most Czech political parties share the people’s scepticism about the Czech Republic’s entry into the eurozone- with only the coalition of Pirates and Mayors in favour of the adoption of the common European currency. Other Czech parties would rather consider withdrawing from the European Union altogether than taking on the euro. So, what are the opinions of the euro in the election programs of parties, movements, and coalitions? The government movement (ANO) do not want to adopt the euro currency at the expense of the Czech koruna, although they will support the Czech Republic’s stay in the EU. “We will not adopt the euro,” states their program. “As a sovereign country, the Czech Republic cannot give up our crown. On the moment of the adoption of the euro, we would lose, among other things, an...
Ahead of Czech parliamentary elections due on 8-9 October 2021, Czech social democrats face hard times. Unlike their German counterparts, they are losing ground and opinion polls suggest they might not even pass the 5% threshold required to win a seat in the Czech parliament. Despite their low popularity, Czech social democrats are still optimistic about their future. “According to polls, there are still around 30% of people who have no one to vote for. They will make their decision at the last minute – and that’s where we have to focus our efforts,” said Jan Hamáček, leader of Czech social democrats. Czech Social Democracy is currently a part of the governing coalition together with the ANO party (Renew) of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. However, they faced defeat both in regional elections in 2020 and in EU elections in 2019. The only representative of Czech social democrats in the European Parliament is MEP Radka Maxová, a former candidate and member of ANO who left the party to join social democrats in March 2021. According to Median agency, Babiš dominates current opinion polls with 27% of the votes. He is followed by centre-right coalition SPOLU formed by Civic democrats (ECR), Christian...
Czech President Milos Zeman was taken to hospital on Tuesday, waving to a camera as he arrived, local media reported. They gave no reason, and the president’s spokesman was not immediately available to comment. The news website Novinky.cz showed video of Zeman, 76, arriving at the hospital by car and waving to the camera. He was in a wheelchair, which he often uses owing to a nerve condition. Novinky.cz said the president’s stay could be “longer-term”, but gave no source. Czech Radio cited an adviser to the president as saying he had heard Zeman arranging a regular medical check. The Czech head of state has low blood pressure, diabetes, and polyfunctional neuropathy and is wheelchair-bound. He has in the past undergone several “reconditioning stays” in the hospital. Former President Václav Klaus is also currently in care at the same hospital. The Czech Republic holds a parliamentary election on Oct. 8-9. The president’s duties include appointing the next prime minister.
The Czech Republic will not recognize the Taliban but will have to maintain contacts with them, Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek said on Sunday. “We find ourselves in a situation where the Taliban are the new masters of Afghanistan. I am not happy about this, but we will have to accept the reality as it is,” Kulhanek told journalists before leaving for the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, adding that it will still be necessary to maintain some contacts with the movement. “Speaking on behalf of the Czech Republic, I can say that we will not recognize the Taliban under any circumstances.” The minister stressed the importance of a common EU approach toward the Taliban. “In particular, we are ready to participate in tackling the issues of migration in the region because we definitely do not want illegal migrants from Afghanistan coming to Europe,” Kulhanek stated. EU in ‘no rush’ to recognise the Taliban The situation in Afghanistan has been dominating the international agenda, with key global and regional powers trying to find ways to ensure stability and security in the war-ravaged Central Asian nation. Kulhanek’s comments come after the European Commission’s managing director for Asia and the Pacific, Gunnar...
If you stepped outside without your wallet or purse 10 years ago, it might have been a disaster. But today, fintech innovations — from mobile wallets to QR payments — mean all you need to buy things is a phone in your pocket. The long-predicted cashless society, where cash is abandoned altogether, seems closer to reality. According to a GlobalData report, some markets, including Sweden, the UK and several countries in Asia, have adopted cashless payments quite swiftly over the past few years. “You have the phone on you at all times, you live on digital platforms, you have social media,” says Johan Strand, CEO of payment platform Zimpler. “That’s where you are and that’s how you want to pay as well.” However, no country has completely killed old-fashioned cash — yet. According to the European Payments Council, Czechs are frontrunners. Contactless payments have increased in number and quickly become the norm in the market since their introduction in 2011 and nowadays represent approximately seventy percent of all expenditures paid by cards in the Czech Republic. Furthermore, according to the European Central Bank (ECB), the relative importance of credit transfers in the Czech Republic is sixty-five and a half percent of the total number of payments (vs....
Unemployment in the Czech Republic fell to 3.6 percent in August from 3.7 percent in July. It thus returned to the level of last May, when the number of unemployed people increased due to the limitations of the first wave of the coronavirus epidemic. A year ago in August, unemployment was two-tenths of a percentage point higher. This follows from data published today by the Labor Office of the Czech Republic. The number of job seekers decreased by 4,289 to 267,889 in August compared to July, and the number of unemployed was approximately 11,200 less than in August last year. The expected increase in the number of unemployed did not take place, on the contrary, employers began to hire new employees, said Viktor Najmon, Director General of the Labor Office of the Czech Republic. He reminded that in September more graduates come to the labor market and that seasonal work is gradually coming to an end. “In the coming months, unemployment may stagnate or rise slightly, which corresponds to the classic development curve. Last but not least, the situation on the labor market will depend on the current pandemic situation,” he added. The labor market is mainly affected by the demand...
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