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Havel's Health
After some worrying moments in recent days, President Vaclav Havel's recovery from surgery seems to be back on course. But the president's continuing ill-health has major implications for the future of the country. Catherine Miller has more details.
President Havel does now seem to be back on the road to recovery after the abnormal heart rhythms he suffered as a result of breathing difficulties. However, Havel is still far from being in the best of health. The Austrian surgeon, Ernst Bodner, who carried out the intestinal operation on the president last week, pointed to Havel's continuing problems with his lungs as a potential source of future problems:
The country has watched every detail of the president's recovery with baited breath and the attachment of the Czech people to their president has been clearly in evidence. But if the worst does happen and the president becomes unable to carry out his duties, what is the future for the republic? It is a question which people are loathe to ask but a question to which, sooner or later, an answer must be found.
When Havel was narrowly re-elected by the two houses of parliament in January, the president himself complained of the lack of serious opposition he had faced. When the matter of a successor is discussed, albeit rarely and in the most muted and discreet of manners, no obvious candidates can be found. Although the popularity of the sixty one year old former dissident has faded a little in recent years, it will be difficult to match Havel's moral authority, stature and respect, especially on the international stage.
The country is also experiencing a period of uncertainty at the moment as observers watch for the outcome of the new social democrat government. At this time, many consider the continuity which Havel represents as being vital.
On the other hand, Kieran Williams of the University of London believes that as the Czech Republic has now established itself internationally and that as the presidential role is to a large extent ceremonial, Havel is not as irreplacable as might be thought.
An eventual successor remains to be found but for the meantime, most Czechs are just keeping their fingers crossed that their current president will soon emerge from hospital safe and sound.
Kohl criticises Zeman for ethic comments
Diplomatic relations between the Czech Republic and neighbouring Germany, took another turn for the worse Tuesday, when Chancellor Kohl levelled charges of ignorance and tactlessness at the new Czech Prime Minister, Milos Zeman. Peter Smith has that story.
Chancellor Kohl, speaking from his holiday home in Austria, spoke of his dissatisfaction with controversial remarks allegedly made by Zeman about Sudeten Germans.
The new Czech leader has received a torrent of abuse in Germany after seemingly placing representatives of the Sudetans, the group of Germans forcibly expelled from the former Czechoslovakia after the Second World War, on a par with Czech communists and right-wing extremists.
Kohl stated in an interview for RTL that the Czech leader's comments were 'absurd', adding 'It's incomprehensible to me how a head of government can make such totally unacceptable remarks.'
'Zeman either did not know what he was talking about or was using the issue for domestic political gain. Both explanations are totally unacceptable.'
Chancellor Kohl continued by asserting that the next time he meets the Czech leader, he would make very clear that such statements are wholly unacceptable. 'If his idea of being a good neighbour means insulting a group of people who suffered particularly, just as your people suffered under the Germans, then you can't expect that we'll be good neighbours.'
The Bavarian leader, Edmund Stoiber was so incensed by Zeman's comments that he threatened to block Czech membership of the EU. Sources in Bonn, however, claim that such a move could never be carried through in parliament.
Zeman has in the past expressed his reservations about the group of Sudeten representatives nominated by Bonn to participate in the Czech-German Reconciliation Commission, a body established as part of the bilateral accord aimed at healing the wounds of the Second World War.
Temelin
The controversial subject of the Temelin Nuclear Power station
has once again reared its head. This time it is the cause of the first
conflict within the new Social democrat government. The government is
set to discuss and decide on the station's completion on Wednesday,
the problem is that the two ministers dealing with the project hold
very different opinions on the matter. With the details here's Pauline
Newman.
Czech Trade and Industry Minister Miroslav Gregr told journalists on
Tuesday that he is prepared to take full responsibility for the
completion of Temelin. He intends to revoke the previous government's
proposal that a special committee be set up to look into the project.
According to Mr Gregr, the decision will take into account aspects
such as profits, how long the construction will take and how safe the
station will be.
What is making this so controversial is that
Minister of the Environment Milos Kuzvart does not agree with Mr Gregr
on who will take part in the commission which is to make these
decisions. He wants the station's assessment to be carried out by an
independent international commission. Another bone of contention is
the issue of whether or not the commission is to carry out an analysis
of the Czech energy markets.
The Environment Minister wants to see the
commission on the job, which was what the previous government of
Tosovsky also wanted. Mr Kuzvart stressed that an international
assessment is imperative saying:
"From our point of view, it is essential to take this aspect into
account, and a project as important as Temelin, should be assessed
against a wider background".
In the meantime, Trade and Industry Minister Mr Gregr has summed up
his stance on the matter saying: "Supervision from abroad is totally
unnecessary".
Mr Kuzvart is set to present the government with his proposals on
Wednesday, which Mr Gregr will immediately ask be abolished to make
way for his, which are based on an economic audit, or assessment.
The government is also under pressure from ecological groups, which
consider Mr Gregr's plans too hasty.
A spokesman for the "Rainbow
Movement" told journalists that Mr Gregr's demands for an audit
contradict previous statements made by the Social democrats in 1995,
in which Chairman Milos Zeman called for an independent assessment of
the project.
The spokesman also pointed out that this latest move by
the Trade and Industry minister is the opposite of what Milos Zeman
promised before the elections, which was that the next government must
decide the future of Temelin on the basis of an independent analysis
of the giant Czech utility CEZ.
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