Current Affairs | All stories

Public opinion in the Czech Republic of the US political scene is generally portrayed as being more pro-Bush than in many European Union countries, and a poll held by the GFK Institute a couple of days before the presidential election seemed to confirm this. It suggested that 20 percent of Czechs supported Bush compared to 16 percent for Kerry. Martin Mikule asked the political analyst Jiri Pehe to what extent he felt this to be an accurate picture of public opinion.

Czech hockey fans packed Prague's Sazka Arena on Tuesday night, setting a new attendance record for the Czech hockey league. Kate Barrette has been finding out why.

While some European leaders may be feeling trepidation at the election of George Bush to a second term as US President, the Czech President Vaclav Klaus - himself a strong advocate of the political right - responded with unconcealed delight, describing Mr Bush as a "true leader of his nation at a difficult time". And that is despite Mr Klaus's reservations about the Iraq war. But Czech political opinion is divided, as we found out when we spoke to deputies in the Czech parliament on Thursday.

Those who say all eyes are on the American election on are certainly right with respect to some parts of the Czech capital. Americans and even a few inquisitive Czechs stayed up to attend all-night parties around Prague with their eyes glued to television screens.

The legendary Czech underground band Psi Vojaci - Dog Soldiers in English - played a special concert in Prague on Tuesday to celebrate their 25th anniversary.

Provisional ballots may delay a final verdict but it looks like US President George W. Bush has won over Democratic Senator John Kerry and will be re-elected to a second term in the White House. What will the implications be for the Czech Republic? Whatever the final result, Ludek Bednar, from Central Europe magazine argues that there is one important lesson Czechs can learn from the US presidential race.

Whatever the final count, the next president of the United States will be a direct descendent of the ancient rulers of Bohemia. A well-known Czech-American scholar says that both President George W Bush and Senator John Kerry — who are very distant cousins, twice removed — can trace their roots back to Duke Borivoj I and Saint Ludmila.

Many of you will remember the story of the Palestinian living in Lebanon Ibrahim Zeid, who was forced to spend several months in the transit area of Prague's Ruzyne airport after he arrived without any documentation and was refused refugee status by the Czech authorities. Mr Zeid has now been granted political asylum in neighbouring Germany.

The presidential elections in the United States have been filling the Czech papers for weeks, with speculation over who has the greater chance of winning, and what the outcome might mean for the United States' relationship to the Czech Republic and to Europe in general. In this country opinion seems as deeply divided as in the US itself, and for Czechs this is one of the most closely observed foreign elections ever. Martin Mikule spoke to political analyst from Prague's Charles University Borivoj Hnizdo.

Each year, on All Soul's Day, Czechs flock the cemeteries lighting candles and leaving flowers on the graves of their loved ones. This year I set out to the cemetery...