Prague Monitor

Prague Daily Monitor The Czech Telecommunications Office (CTU) fined mobile operator T-Mobile half a million crowns for aggressive business practices and shaping contracts with customers that facilitated the excessive use of debt-collectors against them. read more

Prague Daily Monitor Lidove noviny reports that the Czech Special Forces in Afghanistan managed to slay one of the perpetrators of the August terror attack in Bagram, which killed three Czech soldiers on duty. The act of revenge took place only a few days after the Bagram attack. read more

Prague Daily Monitor iDNES.cz reports that the CSSD might be heading toward a split, and it may not be a bad thing in the absence of an authoritative leader. Commentator Petr Kolar writes that the party clearly has two factions that are increasingly at odds with each other. read more

Prague Daily Monitor Czech Television reports that Defense Minister Lubomir Metnar (ANO) announced that the Czech armed forces would begin ordering the new L 39 NG training aircraft from Aero Vodochody, for induction into the air force. read more

Prague Daily Monitor Jiří Zimola, vice chair of the Social Democrats announced that his platform within the party, Zachraňme ČSSD (Save the ČSSD) wanted a change of ministers in the government and to reconstruct the party, because the minsters were not fulfilling their potential. read more

Prague Daily Monitor Hospodářské noviny reports that the long-term shortage of skilled labour, due to the extremely low unemployment rate in the country is having a tangible effect on many firms. Most of these firms rely on cheap, part-time or seasonal labour and are unable to fill their rosters. read more

Prague Daily Monitor President Miloš Zeman finally appointed Tomáš Petříček (ČSSD) foreign minister at a ceremony held in Prague Castle on Tuesday. In his appointment speech, Zeman thanked Jan Hamáček, leader of the ČSSD for agreeing to finally change his party's original nomination – MEP Miroslav Poche. read more

Prague Daily Monitor In a no-holds-barred interview with Czech Radio's Radiožurnál program, President Miloš Zeman warned his former party, the Social Democrats about an impending split after the debacle of the communal and Senate elections, as voices rose against current leader Jan Hamáček. He also added that the Senate was an unnecessary institution in the Czech Republic because voters had little confidence in its abilities and it deserved to be scrapped. read more

Prague Daily Monitor Former acting head of the ČSSD and former Interior Minister Milan Chovanec, published a letter to the Social Democratic party on social media, suggesting that going into a minority government was a mistake and that it was better off sitting in the opposition. read more

Prague Daily Monitor Prime Minister Andrej Babis visited the European border security organisation Frontex's office in Warsaw on Monday. While appreciating the work done by Frontex in securing the EU's external borders, Babis along with his Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki, added that he saw no reason to expand Frontex as the European Commission suggests from the current 1500 to 10000 people. read more

Prague Daily Monitor Hospodářské noviny reports that the ruling coalition comprised of ANO and the Social Democrats will now be more dependent on the Communists in the lower house to pass critical legislation. This is due to the fact that the Senate will now be under the control of the opposition, after both the ruling parties failed poorly in the weekend's elections. It is expected that the Senate will return key legislation to the Chamber, especially on issues that concern labour and expans...

Prague Daily Monitor Jan Hamacek, Deputy PM and Interior Minister, told television host Vaclav Moravec on his show on Czech Television over the weekend, that as leader of the CSSD – the junior partner in the ruling alliance, he would be against Transport Minister Dan Tok's (ANO) plan to privatise CD Cargo's freight train stations. read more

Prague Daily Monitor The Civic Democrats (ODS) and Alliance of Mayors (STAN) are currently the largest parties in the senate and both have their eyes set on the prestigious senate chair's spot. read more