Politics & Economics

New Czech Health Minister Admits Signing Petition Urging PM Babiš to Resign

On Thursday, October 28, the President of the Republic Miloš Zeman appointed Jan Blatný as Minister of Health. The previous minister, Roman Prymula, agreed to resign as soon as his successor was found after the tabloid press took photos of him breaking Covid restrictions as he left a restaurant in Prague’s Vyšehrad late at night, clutching his wallet while not wearing a mask. During a press conference, Mr. Blatný admitted that in 2018 he signed a petition for the resignation of PM Babiš. “I have signed several petitions in my life. I did not immediately recall the fact that I could have signed the petition organized by Million Moments for Democracy. Then I was contacted by one of their representative who confirmed the authenticity of my signature in 2018. I have no reason to hide it, I don’t think this should be an argument for discrediting my person. After all, everyone can express their opinion,“ said the new minister. The petition was organized by Million Moments for Democracy, a Czech student campaign, and association which is analyzing and guarding Czech politics, organizing protests, and demonstrations. Its initial goal was a challenge to get one million signatures for the current Czech Prime...

by Prague Morning Oct 31, 2020

Official: State of Emergency Extended in the Czech Republic Until November 20th

The Czech Chamber of Deputies approved of the extension of the State of Emergency till November 20th.

by Prague Morning Oct 30, 2020

Czech Republic Surpasses Italy and Spain in GDP per Capita

According to the latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) survey, the Czech Republic is ahead of Spain and Italy in terms of GDP per capita. Although this result is affected by the coronavirus crisis, which has taken a severe toll on big economies, this metric is expected to remain in place even after the crisis ends. The IMF also believes that within five years, the Czech Republic will surpass New Zealand and Japan and reach 25th place in GDP per capita. According to the IMF, gross domestic product per capita in the Czech Republic this year is 38,120 international dollars at constant prices and converted into purchasing power parity. The IMF converted salaries into international dollars as of 2017 to compare GDP per capita between countries. “In Italy, according to the IMF, this year it is 37,905 and in Spain 36,086 international dollars of 2017,” said Trinity Bank chief economist and member of the National Economic Council of the Czech Government Lukáš Kovanda. Kovanda explained that the Czech Republic overtook Spain and Italy during the coronavirus crisis of the spring, when both southern countries were hit the hardest. “The reason is the coronavirus crisis, which in the so-called first spring wave...

by Prague Morning Oct 30, 2020

Coronavirus: New Minister of Health Jan Blatný Says Tough Lockdown ‘Avoidable’

“The current data on the epidemiological situation shows that the Czech Republic can avoid a tough lockdown, similar to the one in Israel”, said the new Minister of Health Jan Blatný in an interview with Právo. “The measures introduced are, in my opinion, significant. If the situation cannot be reversed by anything other than tougher measures, I will support them. However, the numbers I see now suggest that a hard lockdown will not be necessary,” Blatný added. When asked to comment on the measures introduced in the last weeks, Blatný replied that he did not want to criticize the actions of his predecessors “To understand whether the new measures are working or not, we always have to wait two weeks. I will insist that we need to have enough time and information before tightening or loosening the measures. Too frequent changes in this situation are wrong and unsafe,” the minister added. Read: Austria Requires Negative COVID-19 Test Upon Arrival From the Czech Republic Jan Blatný replaces Roman Prymula, who was photographed leaving a restaurant that should have been closed under his own COVID-19 restrictions. Prymula denied any wrongdoing, saying he went through the restaurant to a private space for a...

by Prague Morning Oct 30, 2020

Specialist Doctor, Hospital Director and Professor. Who is the New Czech Health Minister?

At midday today, Thursday October 28, the President of the Republic Miloš Zeman will appoint Jan Blatný as Minister of Health.

by Sian Bradley Oct 29, 2020

Armenians Hold Silent Protest in Front of Czechoslovak Group Company

The Armenian youth of the Czech Republic on Tuesday staged their third protest outside the Czechoslovak Group company. “Bloody money, bloody baby clothes. Today’s [Tuesday] protest was in front of the Czechoslovak Group company. DANA self-propelled artillery systems produced by this company have been used by Azerbaijan against Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) in recent days. “We were silent։ the bloody money, bloody clothes and ‘Armenian blood is on your hands’, ‘Who is responsible for DANAs in Azerbaijan’ notes were speaking instead of us.” “We are together in this, and we won’t give up,” the Armenian Youth Association of the Czech Republic stated on Facebook. Companies from the Czechoslovak Group operate in the automotive, railway, aviation, and watch industry and produce weapons, ammunition, and select vehicles. The holding also includes Tatra. The Land Systems division, which focuses on defense production and trade of land vehicles or ammunition. Nagorno-Karabakh is recognized internationally as part of Azerbaijan but is under ethnic Armenian control. Clashes that began in the region in September quickly escalated into a large-scale conflict, with the shelling of towns and cities and the alleged use of banned cluster munitions. Several thousand people have died and shelling has killed civilians on both sides....

by Prague Morning Oct 28, 2020

VIDEO: Czech Minister of Labour Calls PM Babiš an “Idiot”

Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Jana Maláčová (ČSSD) called the Prime Minister Andrej Babiš an “idiot” during an interview with Czech Television. When she thought the camera was off, Maláčová said the current situation “it’s a mess that Babiš made. And now we all have to clean it up. He’s an idiot, I’m sorry, excuse me” There has been a long-standing tension between Maláčová and Babiš. The Prime Minister criticized the Minister of Labor, in an interview with Právo in May, when he stated that “Maláčová behaved illegally during the spring phase of the coronavirus crisis”. xosotin chelseathông tin chuyển nhượngcâu lạc bộ bóng đá arsenalbóng đá atalantabundesligacầu thủ haalandUEFAevertonfutebol ao vivofutemaxmulticanaisonbetbóng đá world cupbóng đá inter milantin juventusbenzemala ligaclb leicester cityMUman citymessi lionelsalahnapolineymarpsgronaldoserie atottenhamvalenciaAS ROMALeverkusenac milanmbappenapolinewcastleaston villaliverpoolfa cupreal madridpremier leagueAjaxbao bong da247EPLbarcelonabournemouthaff cupasean footballbên lề sân cỏbáo bóng đá mớibóng đá cúp thế giớitin bóng đá ViệtUEFAbáo bóng đá việt namHuyền thoại bóng đágiải ngoại hạng anhSeagametap chi bong da the gioitin bong da lutrận đấu hôm nayviệt nam bóng đátin nong bong daBóng đá nữthể thao 7m24h bóng đábóng đá hôm naythe thao ngoai hang anhtin nhanh bóng đáphòng thay đồ bóng đábóng đá phủikèo nhà cái...

by Prague Morning Oct 19, 2020

Prymula: “No Epidemic Can be Tamed Without Economic and Social Losses”

Roman Prymula explained his decisions for imposing harsh restrictions to combat the pandemic. In his speech, which was broadcast on Czech Television and Czech Radio, he said that the next two weeks will be “unhappy and complicated”. He continued: “No epidemic can ever be tamed or anywhere in the world without economic and social losses. It is not true that the choice is between economics and health. The economy only works when the epidemic is under control, hospitals are not full and people are not closing at home for fear of the virus.” Read: Prague Plans to Buy Hotels to House Homeless, Emergency Workers Prymula also apologized for not insisting strongly enough on strict adherence to prevention during the summer months, when Prague infamously held a dinner for 500 on Charles Bridge. He also admitted that the government’s message had not been clear enough. “I give you my word that we will constantly monitor the impacts of individual measures and evaluate their necessity and functionality. And if the situation allows, we will immediately release unnecessary measures,” he continued. Read: Babiš Has “Clear Conscience” On Pandemic Management The Czech Republic recorded 8,325 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, the second-highest daily tally...

by Sian Bradley Oct 14, 2020

Babiš Has “Clear Conscience” On Pandemic Management

After today's government meeting, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) said that he "has a clear conscience in connection with the coronavirus epidemic.

by Prague Morning Oct 12, 2020

Up to Half of Prague’s Hotels May Close by the End of 2020

As many as 47 per cent of Prague hotels could close by the end of the year, the president of the Association of Hotels and Restaurants of the Czech Republic, Václav Stárek, has warned. They also state that closures could hit 30 per cent of hotels in other regions of the country, while the hotel industry as a whole will take at least three years to recover. According to a survey by the association, most hoteliers estimate that attendance by the end of the year will sit between six and ten per cent of the normal rate. Another problem is that corporate events have almost completely disappeared. The use of conference facilities has been at one-tenth of normal since the beginning of the year. Read: Czech Republic to Buy Three Million Vaccines So far, the Czech Statistical Office (CSO) has published data from tourism only for the second quarter of April to June. It was during these months that quarantine measures caused the complete closure of borders. In the second quarter, the number of overnight stays decreased by 66.7 per cent for Czechs and by 96.2 per cent for foreign guests. In the second quarter, 988 thousand guests were accommodated...

by Sian Bradley Oct 05, 2020

ANO Party Wins Big in Regional Elections

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis’ party dominated the country's regional elections and is ahead in the first round of voting for parliament’s upper house.

by Prague Morning Oct 03, 2020

Household Electricity Prices to Fall in Autumn

In a surprising bit of good news, two of the largest electricity suppliers in the Czech Republic have announced that your electricity bill will be reduced from October. Roman Gazdik, a spokesman for global energy firm CEZ Group, confirmed the price of electricity for households across price lists will fall by an average of nine percent from next month. This means customers will save about 230 crowns for every megawatt-hour (MWh) they use. According to the company, an average household consumes around 3.5 MWh, meaning they would save hundreds of crowns. Meanwhile, rival company E.ON has claimed that people who switch to their ‘green electricity’ products will save ten percent compared to standard price lists. Spokeswoman Martina Slavíková explained the decision to reward those who switch products. “We want to motivate people to buy green energy, which is more environmentally friendly and which we buy primarily from local producers throughout the Czech Republic,” she said. These price reductions have been made possible because of the pandemic. CEZ’s Deputy Chairman and Pavel Cyrani, Director of their Business and Strategy Division Electricity, explained: “Gas prices fell during the COVID epidemic and we were able to buy them more cheaply for our customers....

by Sian Bradley Sep 30, 2020

New Czech Health Minister Admits Signing Petition Urging PM Babiš to Resign

Official: State of Emergency Extended in the Czech Republic Until November 20th

Czech Republic Surpasses Italy and Spain in GDP per Capita

Coronavirus: New Minister of Health Jan Blatný Says Tough Lockdown ‘Avoidable’

Specialist Doctor, Hospital Director and Professor. Who is the New Czech Health Minister?

Armenians Hold Silent Protest in Front of Czechoslovak Group Company

VIDEO: Czech Minister of Labour Calls PM Babiš an “Idiot”

Prymula: “No Epidemic Can be Tamed Without Economic and Social Losses”

Babiš Has “Clear Conscience” On Pandemic Management

Up to Half of Prague’s Hotels May Close by the End of 2020

ANO Party Wins Big in Regional Elections

Household Electricity Prices to Fall in Autumn

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