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Carolina (English) No 209
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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: (+42 2) 24810804, ext. 252, fax: (+42 2) 24810987
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
C A R O L I N A No 209, Friday, June 28, 1996.
FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (June 19-26)
Coalition Agrees on Composition of New Government
Coalition party chairmen Vaclav Klaus from the Civic Democratic
Party (ODS), Josef Lux from the Christian Democratic Union-Czechoslovak
People's Party (KDU-CSL) and Jan Kalvoda from the Civic Democratic
Alliance (ODA) came to an agreement on the composition of the new
government June 26.
The new government will have 16 members, three less than the
previous one. Eight of the ministers are from ODS, the ruling party with
68 seats in Parliament. KDU-CSL, with 18 seats in Parliament, and ODA
(13 seats), will each have four places in the new regime. Four seats for
ODA was called "sinfully much" by the June 26 edition of daily MF DNES.
Journalist Jiri Leschtina writes that "however Klaus was pushed to the
wall by the close election results, his retreat from a majority did not
have to be so quick."
There will be five new faces in the government, one from ODS, three
from KDU-CSL and one from ODA. Two ODA government members will hold
different positions.
ODS Government Members
Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus (age 55)
Minister of Foreign Affairs Josef Zieleniec (50)
and Government Vice-Chairman
Minister of Finance Ivan Kocarnik (52)
and Government Vice-Chairman
Minister of the Interior Jan Ruml (43)
Minister of Education Ivan Pilip (33)
Minister of Health Jan Strasky (56)
Minister of Transport Martin Riman (35)
- currently head of the Frydek Mistek
County Office
Minister of Social Affairs Jindrich Vodicka (44)
With the exception of the greenhorn Riman, the other ministers have
remained in their positions. ODS ministers not re-nominated are:
Vladimir Budinsky (Transportation), Karel Dyba (Economy), Jiri Novak
(Justice) and Igor Nemec (minister without portfolio, though he will
remain head of the Office of the Government).
KDU-CSL Ministers
Minister of Agriculture Josef Lux (40)
Minister of Culture Jaromir Talir (46)
- present Deputy Culture Minister
Minister of Defense Miloslav Vyborny (44)
- Parliament deputy, Chairman of the
Constitutional-Legal Committee
Minister for Developments of
Regions and Communities Jaromir Schneider (56)
- former Vice-Mayor of Zlin
Only Lux maintained his previous position, while Culture Minister
Pavel Tigrid (never a KDU-CSL member), Defense Minister Vilem Holan and
Minister for Economic Competition Stanislav Belehradek were not
nominated (Belehradek's ministry will be replaced by a non-ministerial
office).
ODA Ministers
Minister of Industry Vladimir Dlouhy (43)
Minister of Justice Jan Kalvoda (43)
Minister of the Environment Jiri Skalicky (40)
- previously Minister of
Privatization, which was
closed
Minister without Portfolio Pavel Bratinka (50)
- currently Deputy Minister
of Foreign Affairs
Only daily Lidove noviny rated the new cabinet composition as the
biggest news story of June 27. All the remaining dailies put the Czech
soccer team's victory in the Euro 96 semifinals at the top of the front
page. See sport for more details.
Lida Truneckova/Andrea Snyder
After Deadline: Milos Zeman Elected Parliamentary Chairman
Social Democratic Party Chairman Milos Zeman was elected Chairman
of the Czech Parliament June 27 at the second meeting of Parliament. He
received 103 "yes" votes from the quorum of 187, while his rival,
parliamentary leader of the neo-fascist Republican Party Jan Vik,
received 27 votes. Deputies also nominated other candidates for the
position of chairman (Jiri Vlach from ODS, Josef Wagner and Zdenek
Jicinsky from CSSD), though all rejected the nomination.
Jiri Vlach and Jiri Honajzer (ODS), Petra Buzkova (CSSD), Jan Kasal
(KDU-CSL) and Karel Ledvinka (ODA) were elected vice-chairmen.
Ondrej Trunecka/Milan Smid
Klaus Meets Kohl in Firenze
During the June 21-2 European Union summit in Firenze, Czech Prime
Minister Vaclav Klaus met with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. "This
meeting was the first sign to eliminate the media cliche about our not
meeting," Klaus said June 24 to daily MF DNES, who agreed on having
a telephone conversation with Kohl after the naming of the new Czech
government.
Jakub Konecny/Petra Sevcikova
President Havel Visits Poland
President Vaclav Havel requested NATO June 21 in Warsaw to express
clearly how, who and when are they plan to expand. At the 13th
international conference of NATO about political and military
decision-making, Havel stated his wish that the Czech Republic become
a full member of the alliance by 1999 (the 50th anniversary of NATO's
founding), according to the June 22 edition of Czech daily Pravo. Havel
later met with his Polish counterpart Alexander Kwasniewski. President
Havel appeared in public for the first time after recovering from the
light virus he caught three weeks ago.
Jakub Konecny/Petra Sevcikova
Bodenlos Leaves, Dienstbier Stays
Vavrinec Bodenlos, one of the two co-chairmen of the Free
Democrats-Liberal Social National Party (SD-LSNS), resigned at the
party's Central Council meeting June 22. The other co-chairman, former
dissident and foreign minister Jiri Dienstbier, did not follow Bodenlos'
example and asked the members of the council to vote about his future.
Thirty-eight "yes" votes versus twenty-three "no" votes decided
Dienstbier will remain SD-LSNS chairman, at least till the fall party
congress.
The weekend council meeting was marked by attempts to place blame
for the party's failure in last election, where SD-LSNS got only 2.05
per cent of votes. The party will have to move out from the Spalicek
building at the bottom of Wenceslas Square. The City of Prague, which
owns the building, is now demanding market value for the office space,
once rented cheaply to the former Civic Forum in 1990.
Dienstbier denied media reports that he became the only chairman
of SD-LSNS, in an interview for the June 25 issue of daily Lidove
noviny. The function of co-chairman was not abolished and Bodenlos has
been replaced by the first vice-chairman Josef Lesak. The new first
vice-chairman is Physicians' Union Club LOK Chairman Dr. David Rath,
known for organizing strikes of healthcare personnel.
Milan Smid/Milan Smid
Small Parties, Right and Left, Change Leadership
The Democratic Union (DEU) Assembly replaced Chairwoman Alena
Hromadkova, who resigned after the DEU's election flop (2.8 per cent of
the vote, see Carolina 207), with incumbent Vice-Chairman Ratibor
Majzlik June 22. Hromadkova became honorary chairwoman, and Party
Manager Petr Safranek was elected vice-chairman.
The Republic Committee of the Left Bloc (election results: 1.4 per
cent) took place the same day in Prague. Left Bloc Honorary Chairman
Zdenek Mlynar announced his resignation because of serious health
problems, meaning he does not intend to run for the Senate this fall, as
expected. Jaroslav Ortman, a former parliamentary deputy, will remain
chairman until the November party congress.
Milan Smid/Milan Smid
FROM SLOVAKIA
Actor Vlado Muller Dies
Popular actor Vlado Muller, known particularly from the television
serial Friends of the Green Valley (Pratele zeleneho udoli), died June
20 in Bratislava at the age of 60.
Vladislav Muller was a member of the New Scene in Bratislava from
1966, though he took early retirement because of an injury in 1900.
Recently he had contributed to Slovak radio. His long list of film
credits includes some of the Slovak cinema's most esteemed works.
Viktorie Reschova/Petra Sevcikova
ECONOMY
Running a Household to Become More Expensive
Czech households can expect an increase in expenses at the start of
summer vacation. Rent will increase by 10 per cent and heat by 20 per
cent to 35 per cent. Prices of electricity and gas will go up August 1.
The Ministry of Finance says the changes will cost the average Czech
family about 300 crowns per month.
Jakub Konecny/Andrea Snyder
Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank
(valid from June 28)
country currency
------------------------------------------
Australia 1 AUD 21.758
Belgium 100 BEF 87.898
Great Britain 1 GBP 42.573
Denmark 1 DKK 4.691
Finland 1 FIM 5.954
France 1 FRF 5.348
Ireland 1 IEP 43.810
Italy 1000 ITL 17.981
Japan 100 JPY 25.284
Canada 1 CAD 20.294
Luxemburg 100 LUF 87.898
Netherlands 1 NLG 16.131
Norway 1 NOK 4.234
New Zealand 1 NZD 18.766
Portugal 100 PTE 17.575
Austria 1 ATS 2.570
Greece 100 GRD 11.424
Slovakia 100 SKK 89.075
Germany 1 DEM 18.085
Spain 100 ESP 21.501
Sweden 1 SEK 4.171
Switzerland 1 CHF 21.957
USA 1 USD 27.611
ECU 1 XEU 34.241
SDR 1 XDR 39.782
CULTURE
Prague International Film Festival 96 Begins
The second Prague International Film Festival opened June 21 at the
Palace of Culture, with the film Long Week by Polish director Andrzej
Wajda.
It is the continuation of last year's Golden Golem Festival, and
the second year in a row that the International Federation of Film
Directors and Producers (FIAPF) classified it as an A-category festival,
which places it among the top dozen most prestigious festivals in the
world.
Chairing the international reviewing committee, as last year, is
Swedish actor Max von Sydow. The Czech representatives on the committee
are director Vera Chytilova and actor/director Jan Kacer. The festival
is showing a variety of thematically connected film cycles (e.g., films
from Iceland, world classics, films by Peter Greenaway or Wajda).
Besides Greenaway and Wajda, other world-renowned figures to make
an appearance include Annie Girardot, Nikita Michalkov, Harvey Keitel,
Briggitte Fossey and Claudia Gerani.
According to the words of the festival chairman, Czech celebrity
Michael Kocab, the festival is directed especially towards European
film, a minimum of films originating from the United States will be
shown.
If visiting the festival, be aware of same last minute changes
- some John Schlesinger films will be shown (Marathon Man, Day of the
Locust), films listed for the Blanik Theater are transfered to the
Hvezda Theater.
Matej Husek/Katerina Zachovalova
Folkie Jan Nedved Celebrates 50th Birthday with Strahov Concert
Strahov stadium, the 100,000-plus-capacity site of the mass
spartakiad exercise shows, witnessed the 50th birthday party of folk
legend Jan Nedved the night of June 21.
The audience of about 70,000 fans was brought to a boil by the
bands Fesaci, Ivan Mladek's Banjo Band and the old-Prague style Slapeto.
Then Jan and Frantisek Nedved made the whole audience to come together
in song from the first notes until the end of the show. Among the guests
who came to congratulate Jan Nedved were Slovak pop singer Pavol Habera,
Czech film and theater personalities Jiri Suchy and Zdenek Sverak.
Viktorie Reschova/Katerina Zachovalova
Actor Eduard Cupak Dies
Multi-talented actor Eduad Cupak succumbed to serious lung illness
June 23 in Prague at age 64.
The Brno native studied acting at Brno's Janacek Academy of Musical
Arts. In the mid-50's he came to Prague's City Theater, where he again
worked in 1961 after two seasons at the S. K. Neumann Theater. The roles
in which he engraved himself into theatergoers' memories include
Corneill's Cid, Aramis in Planchon's Three Musketeers, or as Bassanio in
The Merchant of Venice. From 1968 he dedicated himself exclusively to
film, television and broadcasting. Cupak performed in many memorable
Czech films (Zizkov Romance, The First Party), and also dubbed foreign
films into Czech.
Viktorie Reschova/Michael Bluhm
SPORT
Surprising Czech Soccer Team Advances into Euro 96 Final
The Czech national team defeated Portugal 1-0 June 23, and secured
itself a spot in the semifinal of the Euro 96 soccer championship. The
match, with a minimum of scoring opportunities, was decided by the solo
attack of the forward Karel Poborsky, who scored the goal by lobbing the
Portugal goalie Baiu in 53th minute of the match.
In the battle to get into the final, the Czechs met France June
26. After 120 minutes of goalless soccer, the match was decided by
penalty kicks, when France's sixth attempt, off the foot of Pedros, was
blocked by the Czech goalie Kouba and the Czech forward Kadlec cashed in
at the opposite goal.
The victory evoked memories of past Czechoslovak championship
squads and the Czech populace responded loudly and longly.
Jakub Konecny/Milan Smid
116 Czech Athletes Nominated for Atlanta
The plenary meeting of the Czech Olympic Committee approved June
22 the nomination of Czech athletes for the Summer Olympic Games in
Atlanta. The Czech Olympic team will consist of 116 athletes accompanied
by 61 trainers and functionaries. The Czech Republic will be represented
in its first Olympic appearance as an independent state in the following
sports: track and field, boxing, sport and modern gymnastics, judo,
track and rapids canoeing, swimming, fencing, beach volleyball,
wrestling, cycling, yachting, table tennis, shooting, tennis, rowing,
and weightlifting.
Experts and the public suppose the best chances for success in
Atlanta belong to Jan Zelezny (world record-holder in the javelin),
Tomas Dvorak (decathlon), Jan Svorada Jr. (road cycling), Lukas Pollert,
Jiri Rohan and Miroslav Simek (all rapids canoeing - slalom), Martin
Doktor (track canoeing), Petr Kurka and Lubos Racansky (both shooting),
and Vaclav Chalupa (rowing). Hopes in the new olympic discipline of
mountain biking ride on Katerina Neumannova, who participated as
a cross-country skier in the Lillehammer 1994 winter Olympics.
Jakub Konecny/Milan Smid
WEATHER
Summer just keeps refusing to get started. It is usually cloudy and
fortunately hard rains like those in Italy and Austria have not been
drenching us. Although we do not have enough sun (daily temperatures
during the weekend of about 10 degrees Celsius/50 degrees Fahrenheit),
we can survive in the city thanks to the beautiful fragrance of blooming
lime trees (the Czech national tree).
Jakub Konecny/Petra Sevcikova
English version edited by Michael Bluhm.
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