Czech press survey - January 24

The key question of whether attacks on the family of Czech presidential candidate Schwarzenberg did not come too early for having any weight in people´s decision-making seems to have been resolved, Petr Honzejk writes in daily Hospodarske noviny.

Lies have been exposed, what was imprecise has been made precise, those who wanted to know facts have learnt that Czech history is not identical with the contents of history textbooks from the 1970s, Honzejk writes.

The "sole" result of the nationality fantasies of Vaclav Klaus Jr and the anti-Semite Adam B. Bartos (from D.O.S.T. extremist group) about Schwarzenberg is that people know for ever what to think about the two, Honzejk writes.

He writes that the dominance of the other candidate, Zeman, disappeared in the two last debates on Wednesday.

Schwarzenberg has learnt well the H-system fraud case - that does not do credit to Zeman - so well that Zeman was unable to say a word, Honzejk writes.

He says Zeman has lost what is called momentum and the chances are 50 to 50 again, Honzejk writes.

Support for the presidential election second round´s candidates is not entirely divided along the "right-left" axis, Bohumil Dolezal writes in Mlada fronta Dnes.

He writes that a smaller part of the left has serious objections to Milos Zeman, a part of the right, particularly outgoing President Vaclav Klaus and his followers, take a negative stand on Schwarzenberg.

Dolezal rejects the talk about that it is not dignified for the citizen to choose someone only because he/she is a "smaller evil."

If someone is a bigger evil and the other a smaller evil, it means at the same time that one is worse, the other is better, Dolezal writes and says people should go to the polls and choose their future president.

Jiri Hanak writes in Pravo that he has a reason to cast his vote for Schwarzenberg even though he is a member of the most asocial government of all times, the centre-right coalition government of Petr Necas (Civic Democrats, ODS).

Hanak writes that a majority of the ugly things Necas´s government has done can be remedied by the next government, that will probably be formed by Social Democrats (CSSD).

However, if Zeman were president, everything could be different. His lust for the CSSD "traitors," who betrayed him in the 2003 presidential election, is unquenchable, Hanak writes.

He says Zeman would not mind disintegrating the CSSSD, which has already partially happened because some of his supporters at the CSSD headquarters subverted their own presidential candidate, Jiri Dienstbier, in the first election round.

If the support that Klaus, who is by no means planning to go into political retirement, lends to Zeman is added, a left-minded person has no other choice but to vote for Schwarzenberg, Hanak writes.

Schwarzenberg may be sleeping from time to time, but he will not harm Social Democracy, Hanak writes.

Author: ČTK
www.ctk.cz