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Carolina (English) No 174
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STUDENT'S 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: (+42 2) 24810804, ext. 252, fax: (+42 2) 24810987
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
C A R O L I N A No 174, Friday, October 13, 1995.
EVENTS FOR THE WEEK OCTOBER 4-11, 1995
Rubas Out as Minister of Health - Strasky Takes His Place
Ludek Rubas of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) was dismissed as
health minister on Monday. Premier Vaclav Klaus, who is also the
chairman of ODS, said Rubas had proven unable to communicate with the
medical community, who have been spraying Rubas with criticism for the
last several weeks.
On Tuesday President Havel appointed Transportation Minister Jan
Strasky to take Rubas's place, while Vladimir Budinsky, a member of
Parliament, will fill Strasky's position. Both Strasky and Budinsky are
members of ODS.
Last Thursday the Association of Hospital Directors added their
voice to those calling for Rubas's removal, namely the Chamber of
Medicine and the Medical Union Club (LOK).
Lidove Noviny, Pravo (formerly Rude Pravo) and Svobodne Slovo all
carried a front-page photograph of Strasky lighting up a cigarette right
after his first press conference as health minister.
Michaela Vysoudilova/Alex Zucker
Doctors See Rubas's Fall as First Victory
That was what Dr. David Rath, president of the Medical Union Club
(LOK), told journalists after Rubas was recalled as minister of health.
Rath also said LOK would not call off the strike planned for Nov.
1 unless the new minister gave them a written guarantee of higher pay.
"I was neither surprised nor taken aback by Premier Klaus's
decision," Rubas told the Czech News Agency (CTK). Rubas said he viewed
his dismissal as the logical outcome of changes that he was not
responsible for. The former health minister said he believed himself to
be the victim of a smear campaign.
Chamber of Medicine officials said they welcomed the change and
voiced hope that the new minister would have the managerial skills to
get the Ministry of Health back in shape.
Petr Bednar, secretary of the Association of Czech and Moravian
Hospitals, said he saw Rubas's dismissal as the first step towards the
successful transformation of the Czech health care system.
Member of Parliament Karel Ledvinka of the Civic Democratic Alliance
(ODA) said now that Rubas was gone he felt the problems with the
country's health care could be solved.
Milos Zeman, head of the opposition Social Democrats (CSSD), said:
"Of course we're glad to see ODS dismissing one of its many incapable
ministers shortly before the elections. But the thought of him being
replaced by Jan Strasky, and Vladimir Budinsky, who recently referred to
trade unions as skinheads, being responsible for transportation, is so
terrifying, I have to assume that ODS has absolutely no personnel policy
whatsoever."
Leaders of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM) said
they thought the government coalition would have suffered greater losses
trying to keep Rubas in his seat than by admitting his incompetence.
David Vozdecky/Milan Smid
Czechs Satisfied with Health Care But Say Quality Is Dropping
A study by the Institute for Public Opinion Research (IVVM) shows
that 63 percent of Czechs believe financial problems in hospitals are
causing a drop in the quality of health care.
Fifteen percent of those surveyed said exactly the opposite, while
22 percent of those questioned said they didn't know or didn't have
enough information to judge.
A full 84 percent of the respondents said they were satisfied with
health care in the Czech Republic.
Also the poll found that one out of four Czechs had not seen
a doctor in the last year. Matej Bartosek/Andrea Snyder
Budinsky Appointed New Minister of Transportation
President Havel named Vladimir Budinsky the new minister of
transportation Tuesday.
Budinsky, 36, had been serving until now as chairman of Czech
Parliament's Economics Committee. He was also on the Czech Railways
board of directors.
In reaction to the change of ministers, on Tuesday railway union
leaders decided to put an end to their strike alert. Jaromir Dusek, head
of the Railworkers Union, said the unions viewed the new minister as
a guarantee their demands would be met. Darina Coufalova/A. Snyder
Havel Vetos Lustrace Law Extension
President Vaclav Havel returned an amendment to the lustrace law to
Parliament for further review last Friday. The amendment would extend
the 1991 lustrace (screening) law to the year 2000.
In an opinion piece for Saturday's edition of the Czech daily Mlada
Fronta Dnes Havel wrote that he considered the legislation
"revolutionary, exceptional, temporary, restricted to a transitional
period, in other words, until the adoption of new laws, which would
determine the requirements for holding various positions (in state
administration, but not only in that area) in a permanent way as is
customary in democratic legal systems." Livia Savelkova/Andrea Snyder
Fraud in TV Lottery
Millions of crowns' worth of frauds are taking place in the popular
television lottery TV Bingo, according to a story published in Friday's
edition of the daily Lidove Noviny.
The article said the participants for the drawing - called New
Chance and offering prizes from 10,000 to 1 million crowns - were
selected in advance. Once they received their prize, they reportedly
gave back the winnings in return for a sum of 10,000 crowns.
Karel Hakl, a representative for TV Bingo, the lottery operator,
said the firm had been working with the police for one month already.
According to the latest reports, investigators are charging two
employees of the gameshow in connection with the case.
According to CTK, TV Bingo has earned more than 1 billion crowns
since it started a year ago, but the firm says this estimate is
exaggerated. Michal Kubal/Jan Lopatka
Handicapped Fair in Olomouc
"Handicapped Days," a fair organised by the regional chapter of the
Association for the Handicapped and the Czech Red Cross Youth, took
place for the 12th time in the north Moravian city of Olomouc in the
last week of September.
Visitors to the Flora Olomouc exhibition grounds had the chance to
see a wide range of rehabilitation, compensation and prosthetic devices,
displayed by almost three dozen exhibitors from around the Czech
Republic. The exhibition introduced not only producers of medical
equipment, but also dealers providing repairs and consulting services.
Apart from discussions on topics of interest to the handicapped,
there was, as always, a festival of Czech and foreign handicapped folk
singers called Vivat Vita. The festival was followed by a benefit
concert featuring Kamelot, Hradistan and other bands.
Michaela Vysoudilova/J. Lopatka
One Out of 10 Czechs Targeted by Crime
A public opinion survey by Factum published Friday showed that 10
percent of the Czech population were victims of crime this summer.
Five percent of the respondents listed pickpockets or burglars, 2
percent had their cars stolen, one apartment in a hundred was robbed and
one in a hundred people was assaulted. Olga Huderova/Maria Tripoliti
FROM SLOVAKIA
Slovak Legislators Fail to Settle Secret Service-Police Conflict
Slovak Parliament had a special session on Tuesday to discuss the
conflict between the police and the secret service in the investigation
of the kidnapping of Michal Kovac Jr., son of the Slovak president.
Premier Vladimir Meciar also attended the session, which was called
by the opposition.
Parliament Chair Ivan Gasparovic was quoted in Wednesday's Pravo as
saying, "We didn't approve the agenda, we don't have anything to talk
about." With these words Slovak Parliament's shortest meeting ever came
to an end. The opposition deputies then continued by themselves.
The government deputies applauded the fact that the Party of the
Democratic Left (SDL) decided not to take part in the debate. Peter
Weiss, head of SDL, was quoted in Wednesday's Mlada Fronta Dnes as
saying, "We refuse to take part to this dirty political war, where
people's misfortunes are exploited."
Ivan Lexa, director of the Slovak Information Service and Interior
Minister Ludovik Houdek also refused to attend the session.
Matej Husek/M. Tripoliti
Austrian President Did Not Pay Bail for Kovac Junior
Responding to an article in last Thursday's Denni Telegraf claiming
that Austrian President Thomas Klestil paid the bail for Michal Kovac
Jr. Oct. 2, Kovac Jr.'s lawyer said Monday he knows who put up the money
and it wasn't Klestil. Barbora Spevakova/A. Zucker
BUSINESS/ECONOMICS
Inflation and Unemployment in September
The consumer price index rose 0.9 percent in September after two
months of zero inflation, putting the annual inflation rate at 8.6
percent. The average inflation rate, calculated from the average change
in consumer prices over the year, stood at 9.8 percent.
Employment offices registered 154,000 jobless at the end of
September, nearly 2,000 less than in August. The unemployment rate
remained unchanged at 3.0 percent. The average number of applicants per
job was 1.6.
As usual, the lowest jobless rate was in Prague (0.3 pct), while
the highest rate of unemployment was in the districts of Karvina and
Most (6.9 percent in both). Lucie Chytrackova/J. Lopatka
In Brief
* The state budget showed a surplus of 14.4 billion crowns at the end of
September, more than the surplus for 1994 as a whole.
Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank (as of Oct. 12)
Checks Cash
country buy sell middle buy sell middle
Australia 1 AUD 20.085 20.287 20.186 19.12 21.26 20.19
Belgium 100 BEF 89.793 90.695 90.244 87.54 92.94 90.24
Britain 1 GBP 41.403 41.819 41.611 40.19 43.03 41.61
Danemark 1 DKK 4.760 4.808 4.784 4.58 4.98 4.78
Finland 1 FIM 6.091 6.153 6.122 5.92 6.32 6.12
France 1 FRF 5.273 5.325 5.299 5.10 5.50 5.30
Ireland 1 IEP 42.294 42.720 42.507 40.51 44.51 42.51
Italy 1000 ITL 16.305 16.469 16.387 15.62 17.16 16.39
Japan 100 JPY 25.985 26.247 26.116 24.82 27.42 26.12
Canada 1 CAD 19.624 19.822 19.723 18.83 20.61 19.72
Luxemburg 100 LUF 89.793 90.695 90.244 87.24 93.24 90.24
Netherlands 1 NLG 16.501 16.667 16.584 16.10 17.06 16.58
Norway 1 NOK 4.193 4.235 4.214 4.06 4.36 4.21
New Zealand 1 NZD 17.343 17.517 17.430 16.68 18.18 17.43
Portugal 100 PTE 17.593 17.769 17.681 16.50 18.86 17.68
Austria 1 ATS 2.627 2.653 2.640 2.58 2.70 2.64
Greece 100 GRD 11.218 11.330 11.274 10.56 11.98 11.27
Germany 1 DEM 18.495 18.681 18.588 18.13 19.05 18.59
Spain 100 ESP 21.321 21.535 21.428 20.43 22.43 21.43
Sweden 1 SEK 3.777 3.815 3.796 3.64 3.96 3.80
Switzerland 1 CHF 22.791 23.021 22.906 22.41 23.41 22.91
USA 1 USD 26.237 26.501 26.369 25.67 27.07 26.37
EMS-ECU 1 XEU 33.825 34.165 33.995 -- -- --
MMF-ZPC-SDR 1 XDR 39.325 39.721 39.523 -- -- --
CULTURE
Gabriela Benackova Celebrates 25 Years Onstage
Soprano Gabriela Benackova, one of Czech opera's greats, celebrated
the 25th anniversary of her career Sunday at Prague's Zofin Palac. Her
concert calendar is already filled up to 1998.
Benackova is soon to leave for a tour including performances in
Milan's La Scala, Munich and Zurich. The soprano will be performing in
Prague next June at the Rudolfinum.
Benackova carefully chooses roles suitable for her voice. Czech
music remains one of her favorites. She would like to learn the lead of
Janacek's "Makropulos Affair." Viktorie Reschova/A. Snyder
SPORTS
Czech Kickers Win in Belarus, Move One Step Closer to England
After Saturday's 2-0 win over Belarus in Minsk, the Czech national
soccer team is within reach of the 1996 European Championships in
England. All they need now is a win over Luxembourg Nov. 15 in Prague.
David Sprincl/A. Zucker
After 22 Years a British Horse Wins Pardubice Steeplechase
This year's 105th running of the Grand Pardubice cross country
steeplechase took place on Sunday before a crowd of 20,000. Jockey
Charles Mann on It's A Snip took home the first place trophy after a
second-place finish in last year's race. It's A Snip was the only
"foreign" horse to finish this year's event. Results: 1. It's A Snip,
2. Vinny, 3. Chalcedon. David Sprincl/Jan Palicka
Vsetin Leads Czech Ice Hockey League
Last season's champion moved to the top of the standings after the
11th round of the Czech Extraleague. Though tied for first with Sparta
and Litvinov at 18 points each, Vsetin has a better goals for-goals
against standing.
Trailing the top three are Ceske Budejovice in fourth and Zlin in
fifth, with Plzen and Brno bringing up the rear.
Top scorers: 11 Horak (Sparta), 10 Kral (Trinec), 9 Alinc
(Litvinov) and Ujcik (Slavia). Adam Kotalik/J. Palicka
Sports in Brief
* Monday the Ostrava-Vitkovice Czech Indoor tennis tournament kicked
off, featuring the biggest prize money ever in the Czech Republic, with
favorites Petr Korda and Yevgeni Kafelnikov falling in the first round.
* The Czech national basketball team triumphed over Macedonia 85-72
(43-41) in the first qualification match for the 1997 European
Championships.
* Martin Koloc, 28, became the first Czech to take home the European
truck racing title, with a first and a second place in the last two
races of the European championship circuit in Jarama, Spain.
* The Czech duo Triner-Stanc in their Skoda Felicia Kit 1500 are in
15th place after the second stage of the Rally San Remo.
* The only Czech who turned in a decent showing at last weekend's world
cycling championships in Colombia was Pavel Buran, who finished 18th in
the sprint, thereby earning himself a plane ticket to the 1996 Olympics
in Atlanta. Karel Bartek, Jan Palicka/J. Palicka
WEATHER
The beginning of October was a surprise to everyone, as the
mornings brought fog with cloudy and overcast skies only to give way to
clear skies in the afternoon. Daytime temperatures this week in Prague
have been steady at about 20 degrees Celsius, occasionally climbing as
high as 23. Lucie Dvorakova/J. Palicka
Final editing of the english version: Alex Zucker
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