CCCCC AA RRRRR OOOO LL II NN N AA CC AA A RR R OO O LL II NNN N AA A CC AA A RRRRR OO O LL II NN N N AA A CC AAAAAA RR R OO O LL II NN NN AAAAAA CCCCC AA A RR R OOOO LLLLLL II NN N AA A STUDENTS' E-MAIL NEWS FROM CZECH REPUBLIC Faculty of Social Science of Charles University Smetanovo nabr. 6 110 01 Prague 1 Czech Republic e-mail: CAROLINA@cuni.cz tel: (+4202) 24810804, ext. 252, fax: (+4202) 24810987 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* C A R O L I N A No 270, Thursday, December 18, 1997. FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (December 10 - 17) Tosovsky Appointed New Prime Minister Christian Democrat Chairman Josef Lux, who was recently delegated by President Vaclav Havel to lead negotiations on the new cabinet, fulfilled part of his task December 16 after days of uneasy searching for the new prime minister. Havel could therefore officially ask Czech National Bank Governor Josef Tosovsky to form the government. The well-known banker, appointed December 17, was selected after Foreign Minister Jaroslav Sedivy refused the position. The nomination of Tosovsky was welcomed by all the coalition parties (the Civic Democratic Party - ODS, the Christian Democrats and the Civic Democratic Alliance - ODA), and even by the strongest opposition party, the Social Democrats. Social Democrat Chairman Milos Zeman said about the new government: "The Social Democrats still demand absolutely clear guarantees that this government will really be a temporary one, that it will only last till elections which will take place by next June." There is an uncertainty about ODS's approach to the new cabinet. After their congress last weekend, where outgoing Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus was re-elected the party's chairman (see below), the question was raised whether ODS wants to participate in the government. Complications appeared two days after the congress, when Klaus said it was not easy to choose a prime minister from Lux's list of candidates and that ODS would probably add their own candidates to the list. Klaus said he was surprised the quick nomination of Tosovsky. Lux has attacked ODS' indecisiveness several times in past weeks and he said he does not plan on ODS being in the new government. He clarified his words in an interview for Czech Television, saying he would welcome in the government Finance Minister Ivan Pilip, a member of ODS opposed to Klaus. Klaus said he expects he will meet Tosovsky. "In this sense, we are waiting for Josef Tosovsky's call. We are to discuss the long-term goals of the government, the length of its mandate, the role of political parties in the government and a number of related issues," Klaus said. According to a Factum agency poll, Tosovsky is the fourth most-popular politician. Erik Tabery/Veronika Machova Who is Josef Tosovsky? Until now governor of the Czech National Bank, now Czech prime minister, Josef Tosovsky was born September 28, 1959 in Nachod. In 1973 he graduated from Prague's University of Economics with a major in international business. He worked until 1984 in the Czechoslovak State Bank (SBCS), changing positions frequently. He served internships in France and Great Britain, where he worked as deputy to the general director of the Czech Zivnostenska banka's London branch. Until 1989, he was employed as advisor to the SBCS chairman, and later in the year returned to Zivnostenska's London branch. After the events of 1989, Tosovsky led the SBCS and became governor of the Czech National Bank in January 1993. He is also a governor of the International Monetary Fund. He has been the recipient of many awards (Central Banker of the Year, European Banker of the Year and European Manager of the Year). He is on the Scientific Council at the University of Economics and is a member of Charles University's Rector's Advisory Board. Tosovsky is not a member of any political party, and is known as a hard-working, modest man who until now has made an effort to stay out of the public spotlight. Tosovsky is married and has two daughters. Nora Novakova/Andrea Snyder The Budget for the Next Year Passed The Czech Chamber of Deputies approved a practically unaltered version of the budget by two votes (101:99) December 12. The bill passed through the third and final reading mainly thanks to support from Jozef Wagner, an independent, who sided with the 100 coalition deputies during the vote. Wagner had publicly promised to give his vote to the budget bill. All opposition deputies, including independent Marie Noveska, voted against the bill. The balanced budget allows for the income and spending of 536.6 billion crowns. Compared to the 1997 budget, the ministries registering the biggest increases are defense (by 22 per cent) and agriculture (21 per cent). Both ministries are run by the Christian Democrats. The budget predicts income growth of 8 per cent, while spending should increase by 4.9 per cent. The only unexpected reaction to the approval came from Social Democrat Chairman Milos Zeman, who said he would not alter the budget if his party takes power after next year's early elections, although he said he is convinced of the budget's shortcomings. He said the new Cabinet will have enough work preparing a budget for 1999. Resigning Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus and Finance Minister Ivan Pilip said they consider the approved budget a positive step, and Civic Democratic Alliance Chairman Jiri Skalicky expressed his surprise: "It does not happen very often that a government which recently resigned is able to pass a budget in Parliament." Jan Kozanek/Ivona Pulkrabkova Klaus Still ODS Chairman Of 314 delegates at the eighth Civic Democratic Party (ODS) congress December 13-14, 227 voted resigning Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus into the chairman's seat again. Former Interior Minister Jan Ruml received 72 votes. However, a decision on whether to stay in the government coalition was not made. Congress-goers decided to leave that decision to the ODS upper echelon, only emphasizing that if the party is to remain in the government, the Cabinet's program should match ODS'. The financial issues that shook ODS' position in November were discussed minimally. When former Vice Chairman and Finance Minister Ivan Pilip reminded the convention that in September the party had discussed transferring signing rights to a secret party bank account in Switzerland, Klaus side-stepped the issue and said that a line should be drawn through the issue, leaving it in the past. ODS vice chairmen now include Miroslav Macek (until now ODS executive vice chairman), Miroslav Benes (mayor of Ceske Budejovice), Libuse Benesova (Senator) and Bohdan Dvorak (founder of the Club of Engaged Non-Party Members). All are regarded as Klaus supporters. Seventeen of the original 30 nominees retraced their names before voting, including Ruml, Pilip, Jiri Vlach and Jiri Honajzer. Tomas Ratiborsky resigned from his post as party manager, following a report to the congress about the party's financial management last year. He said that when everyone is resigning, it is clear he should leave his post as well. He stressed that his resignation has nothing to do with ODS financing. ODS Control Commission Chairman Jan Voracek said there is no reason for Ratiborsky to step down, because the commission has not uncovered any illegal activity. The commission said the Swiss account has not been proven to exist, and all of former Foreign Minister Josef Zieleniec's information was second-hand. After the congress closed, Jan Ruml publically supported varying policy platforms within the ODS. He said one-third of party members would support it, as Pilip and Health Minister Jan Strasky have. Half of Parliament's Chamber of Deputies could be expected to follow Ruml. Ondrej Drabek/Andrea Snyder Journalists Lacked More Than Restrooms at ODS Congress Journalists who arrived at the ODS congress were horrified when they found out that they could only watch the meeting on a TV screen in a room for 30 people (there were 182 journalists accredited). Another unpleasant surprise came when they needed to use the restrooms. "Information for the press: Restrooms are in the building across the street," said the sign at the press center entrance. "This is terrible, I've never seen a political party meeting like this. Even the Spanish Socialists' congress in the 80's was better. At least they had large screens there," said Arnold Schneider from the German TV station ARD. After a few hours the cigarette smoke made the press center air so thick that non-smoking journalists preferred to stay outside. That was definitely more pleasant because it was as cold outside as inside and the air was much fresher. "They are treating us terribly," complained photographers and cameramen, who were not allowed to enter the congress hall until a few hours after the beginning of the meeting. Other journalists did not get at all to the rooms where delegates were sitting. They could communicate with the delegates only if those decided to leave the hall. During the first break in the negotiations journalists were waiting for ODS party manager Tomas Ratiborsky, who had announced his resignation. Neither he nor any other leader of the party, however, had enough courage to face the press. "They could have put up a TV in Prague, and we wouldn't have had to come here," said one wag. During the negotiations some politicians came to the press center. "I'll try to arrange a better room," promised former Interior Minister and journalist Jan Ruml. "What are you complaining about? This is great," said Finance Minister Ivan Pilip ironically to the journalists lamenting over a fax which did not work. "This is an extraordinary congress, everything was prepared in haste and it was simply impossible to do better," said ODS spokesman Vaclav Musilek to justify the miserable conditions for journalists. Ondrej Drabek/Veronika Machova IN BRIEF * Ten Parliament deputies and Senators from the Civic Democratic Party, the Christian Democrats, the Civic Democratic Alliance and the Social Democrats nominated President Vaclav Havel for re-election. He accepted. * Josef Tosovsky entrusted Czech National Bank management to Pavel Kyslika, a member of the bank's advisory board, until Tosovsky himself leaves the government and returns to the bank. * President Vaclav Havel signed a law enabling the Czech Republic to divide into 14 self-governing regions as of the year 2000. * Jan Cerny, until now vice chairman of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) Parliament Club, is the new chairman. He supports ODS remaining in the government. He replaces Jiri Honajzer, who stepped down after the anonymous donor affair. * Just less than 30 per cent of voters polled in December prefer the Social Democrats. About 19 per cent still support the Civic Democratic Party, 13.4 percent would vote for the Christian Democrats, 11.8 would vote for the Communists, 5.6 per cent support the neo-Fascist Republicans, and 5.1 per cent supports the Civic Democratic Alliance. * Parliament turned down a Social Democrat proposal December 12 which would have required every person with assets of more than 10 million crowns to report what they own. * The Czech-Moravian Chamber of Unions proposed December 10 that individual unions should ask for pay increases to cover cost-of-living increases. They are prepared to support strikes. * Investigators released a 16-year-old skinhead from prison, after the youth allegedly participated in the attack which resulted in the death of Sudanese university student Amir Abdelradi. The other skinhead, 18-year-old Petr Zbornik, is still being detained on charges of murder and racially motivated injury. * The Helsinki Committee in Prague decided December 12 that the government's report on the situation of Czech Romanies (Gypsies) provides a good background for further discussion. They say, however, that it was hurriedly prepared, without discussion of the issue with non-government organizations. Lenka Vochocova, Jan Puncochar a Ludvik Pospisil/Andrea Snyder FOREIGN RELATIONS EU Invites Czech Republic to Membership Talks The Czech Republic, together with five other candidates, will enter into detailed negotiations about EU membership in April, as representatives of the 15 EU member nations decided at their Luxembourg summit. The expansion process will begin March 30 at a meeting of 26 leaders from 26 countries, including all 11 candidates from Central and Eastern Europe. Poland, Hungary, Estonia, Slovenia and Cyprus will participate in the detailed negotiations, as well. Preparations for negotiations with the second group (Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Latvia) will be accelerated and those countries should join the others in 1999, if all criteria are met. Czech President Vaclav Havel, who participated in the weekend summit despite his prescribed convalescence, arrived with Czech Foreign Minister Jaroslav Sedivy. Havel called the decision of the EU representatives one of the key moments in modern Czech history and he expressed his thanks not only in the name of his country but also as an inhabitant of Europe. Although representatives of the invited countries indicated their readiness for EU membership in the first two years of the next millenium, Sedivy said the years 2004-2005 are a more realistic goal for the Czech Republic. Gabriela Podzimkova/Ivona Pulkrabkova Foreign Minister Jaroslav Sedivy: "The End of a Divided Europe" The Czech Republic's membership in NATO was signed by the foreign ministers of the 16 NATO countries December 16 in Brussels. Together with Hungary and Poland, the Czech Republic was officially invited to join the alliance, which is expected to expand in April, 1999. The three Central European countries will endure a tough struggle for their definitive acceptance through approval from all NATO countries' legislatures. While most countries are unlikely to present any obstacles, the American and Turkish legislatures' approvals are expected to be the most difficult. Turkey is disappointed with the recent European Union decision (the EU did not ask Turkey to take part in the membership negotiations), which has affected its new approach within NATO. Further alliance expansion is threatened by the United States, as American Secretary of State Madeleine Albright confirmed in her speech, where she said, "The Senate's approval is not possible to consider a given." Jana Ciglerova/Jana Ciglerova FROM SLOVAKIA Meciar's Shocking Declaration "I declare, that if the opposition wins the elections I will put politics away - if I go into the elections at all. I have to resolve that question over Christmas," said Slovak Premier Vladimir Meciar December 10 on Slovak Television. Observers speculate whether Meciar is scheming to garner Slovaks' sympathy or if his comments truly reflect his exhaustion. Tibor Cabaj, chairman of the Parliament Club of Meciar's Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, said the movement cannot imagine the departure of its leader. Opposition leaders agree that if Meciar is tying to gain the sympathy of the Slovak public, he will not succeed. Christian Democrat Frantisek Miklosko said "(Meciar) can say what he wants, he can even cry, but he cannot erase what he and his people have done." Prokop Havel/Michael Bluhm Kovac Stops Prosecution of Son Slovak President Michal Kovac used his position to stop the criminal prosecution of his son Michal Jr., who was under investigation for his role in multi-million dollar frauds connected with the Slovak company Technopol. Kovac Jr. is also under investigation in Germany. The investigation was first made public after the younger Kovac was kidnapped and dumped in Austria, where he was taken into custody on an international warrant. Austrain officials did not extradite him to Germany, because Kovac came into Austria against his will. An Austrian court decided his rights were breached and indirectly accused the Slovak government of participating in the kidnapping. (see Carolina...). Kovac Jr. has said that when his passport is returned he will go to Germany and present himself to law enforcement officials. "I have nothing to fear, because I'm innocent," said Kovac Jr. Katerina Murlova/Michael Bluhm ECONOMY Anti-Monopoly Office Rejects Prazdroj-Radegast Merger The Office for Protection of Economic Competition decided December 11 to refuse the proposed merger of the two largest Czech breweries - Plzensky Prazdroj (Pilsner Urquell) and Radegast. The reason indicated for the decision was a fear that such a colossus would dictate the price of beer. The merger plan was first made public this summer as an agreement between the Investment and Postal Bank (IPB) group and Nomura (Nomura is to purchase IPB in an ongoing privatization deal). The two control two-thirds of Prazdroj's shares and a majority of Radegast's. The merger would account for some 7 million hectoliters of beer annually, or 40 per cent of Czech beer production. Britain's Bass, which owns the Prague Breweries (Prazske pivovary, the country's third-largest brewer) and one-third of Radegast, sharply criticized the plan. IPB announced it will appeal the decision and wants to explain the advantages of the merger. IPB said it would be premature to take the matter to the commercial courts. If the merger indeed falls through, Prazdroj representatives said they might dust off former plans to merge with South Bohemian Breweries (Jihocesky pivovary), which is one-third owned by IPB. They would not be the only party interested in the brewery, because the Agriculture Ministry is considering merging the brewery with the Czech Budweiser (Budvar). Jiri Zizka/Michael Bluhm ECONOMY IN BRIEF * The Czech Republic's growth for the first three quarters of 1997 is the weakest among post-Communist Central European nations. Growth for the first nine months of 1997 was 1.1 per cent, down from the 1.3 per cent of the first six months, according to information released by the Czech Statistics Office December 16. * The minimum wage will rise, according to a government decree issued December 10, from 2,500 crowns per month to 2,650 crowns per month January 1. Minimum hourly wages will increase from 13.69 crowns per hour to 14.80 crowns per hour. * SPT Telecom, the near-monopoly telephone service provider in the Czech Republic, announced its rates would rise in April, although some international and inter-city rates will be reduced. Ondrej Hanzal, Ludvik Pospisil/Michael Bluhm Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid from December 12) country currency ------------------------------------------ Australia 1 AUD 22.495 Belgium 100 BEF 93.844 Great Britain 1 GBP 56.367 Denmark 1 DKK 5.080 Finland 1 FIM 6.416 France 1 FRF 5.781 Ireland 1 IEP 49.954 Italy 1000 ITL 19.767 Japan 100 JPY 27.124 Canada 1 CAD 23.988 Luxemburg 100 LUF 93.844 Hungary 100 HUF 17.029 Netherlands 1 NLG 17.179 Norway 1 NOK 4.727 New Zealand 1 NZD 20.058 Poland 1 PLN 9.756 Portugal 100 PTE 18.944 Austria 1 ATS 2.752 Greece 100 GRD 12.281 Slovakia 100 SKK 99.315 Germany 1 DEM 19.350 Spain 100 ESP 22.864 Sweden 1 SEK 4.427 Switzerland 1 CHF 23.853 USA 1 USD 34.122 ECU 1 XEU 38.208 SDR 1 XDR 45.966 CULTURE Advent Concert in Prague The fifth-annual benefit advent concert was held in Prague's Municipal House (Obecni dum) December 14. Slovak tenor Peter Dvorsky, as has become tradition, took part in the performance, this year accompanied by Maltese soprano Miriam Gauci. The musical delicacies were connected with the pre-Christmas atmosphere and benefit purposes. Gabriela Pecic/Gabriela Pecic CULTURE IN BRIEF * Karel Gott as best male singer, Lucie Bila as best female singer and Olympic as most popular group were the results of the traditional Czech Golden Nightingale public poll released December 13 in Pilsen (Plzen). Gott, who has won the Nightingale more than 20 times, this year had his first real competition. Daniel Hulka, a young Czech singer, lost by 6,000 votes. * Director Frantisek Vlacil won the Vladislav Vancura Award, the main prize given by the Film and Television Union. * Lida Rakusanova, a famous Czech journalist, released her book Vaclav and Dagmar Havel. The book is about the presidential couple's relationship and also tells how the president met his second wife. * The European Literary Club, founded in 1935 as the first Czech book club, will evidently resume its activities. Ladislav Venys, director of the Prague Center for Democracy and Free Enterprise, decided to follow in his uncle Bohumil Janda's steps, and renew the club. * The Arena Chamber Theater has climbed to the top of the Czech drama scene, after being destroyed by the Communist regime as the Little Theater under the Gutter and the Waterloo. Arena enjoyed great success with its new show Continuing Blood Poisoning at the Czech Theater 97/98 festival held at the Comedy Theater in Prague. The performance tries to capture the spirit of a strange town, which Ostrava definitely is, in a cabaret style. Eva Fronkova/Jana Ciglerova SPORTS Uhrin Likely to Resign after FIFA Confederations Cup in Riyadh Czech national soccer team coach Dusan Uhrin has become determined about ending his four-year term with the national team, which finished second in the Euro 96 tournament. The reason for his decline was foremost the qualification matches for the 1998 World Cup in France. The team, meanwhile, advanced to the semifinal of the FIFA Confederations Cup after a 2-2 tie with South Africa, a 1-2 loss to Uruguay and a smashing 6-1 win over the United Arab Emirates. "It is 90-per-cent sure that I will quit right after the tournament in Riyadh, no matter how we finish," Uhrin told the Sport daily. He confirmed interest of clubs from the United Arab Emirates and Israel and also the national team of Switzerland. During the match against South Africa December 12, the Czechs took the lead twice after each of Smicer's scores. First, Augustine evened the score and four minutes before the end, when the Czech Republic was playing without its suspended captain, Nemec, the final score became 2-2 thanks to Mchalele. And more - in the closing seconds he missed an attack on an empty goal. The Czech team was losing against Uruguay up until the 26th minute December 14, after Oliveira's strike and, after a foul, a red card was shown for Poborsky. Towards the end of the match, Uruguay scored their second goal and Siegl could only close the score to 1-2. In the last match against the United Arab Emirates, the Czech team finally found itself. After exciting first half play was crowned with four goals (Nedved twice, Smicer and an unintentional goal scored by the Arabs), the Czechs jumped into the semifinals. The Arabian team, led by former Czech national coach Milan Macala, could only close to 1-6 after Smicer closed his hat trick. He became the high scorer of the tournament with five goals in three matches. The Czech team will play in the semifinals against world champions Brazil December 19. Jiri Polak/Ajla Zinhasovic Baltica Cup Will Determine Squad for Nagano Olympics Freezing Moscow welcomed the Czech hockey national team. They came to play in the Baltica Cup, known till this year as the Izvestiya Prize. This tournament should solve all remaining questions about the nomination of 11 players from European leagues for the Olympic Games in Nagano. After a 4-4 tie with Finland December 17 (goals by Hejduk, Alinc, Patera and Moravec), the Czech Republic will play against Sweden and Russia. Coaches Ivan Hlinka and Slavomir Lener want to examine all 23 players. "It is important to achieve good results against Finland, Russia and Sweden, but it is more essential now to find the best players for the Olympic tournament. However, it is connected. All the players in Moscow would like to start in Japan. So I suppose they will show their top form," Hlinka said. Milan Eisenhammer/Mirek Langer SPORTS IN BRIEF * Sparta Praha lost its last match in the soccer Champions League to Germany's Borussia Dortmund 0-3 and finished third in the group. * Decathlon world champion Tomas Dvorak was voted top track and field athlete of the year, followed by Sarka Kasparkova (triple jump, world champion) and Ludmila Formanova (800 meter). * Vsetin defeated the second-to-last-place Karlovy Vary 2-1 and moved into first place in the 35th round of the hockey extraleague. Katerina Murlova and Milan Eisenhammer/Mirek Langer After deadline: 1997 Top Athlete (voted on by journalists): 1. Tomas Dvorak (decathlon), 2. Dominik Hasek (ice hockey), 3. Martin Doktor (canoe). 1997 Sport Star (voted on by Czech TV spectators): Martin Doktor. Mirek Langer/Mirek Langer WEATHER It's here. It's snowing, and snowing hard, as if it had never snowed here before. To be more exact: it is not snowing right now, but it snowed, hard. There is snow in Prague and ice on the sidewalks. It is possible that it will not get any warmer, and if you are planning a visit to our hundred-spired mother city, do not forget to pack some plaster. After a walk on Prague's sidewalks you never know when a cast will come in handy. Jaroslav Mares/Michael Bluhm Dear readers, After a year full of political and economic unrest, after a year in which the Czech Republic was devastated by floods, we wish you all a peaceful Christmas full of calm and a happy entrance into the new year, which should bring more calm and stability (and not only on the Czech political scene). Let's hope the quaking of the of the Czech crown will not threaten one of the most characteristic features of Christmas - generosity. The Editors English version edited by Michael Bluhm. Carolina No. 271 will be distributed January 9, 1998. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This news may be published only with "CAROLINA" designation. The subscription is free. 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