Czech press survey - November 26

In fact, the institution has concentrated all the archives and documents of the former regime in its hands.

Has Zacek done something terrible that a petition, signed by Havel and some other dissidents, is asking for his dismissal? Leschtina asks.

If a counter-petition, signed by other dissidents such as Alexandr Vondra, former European affairs minister, is launched, the Klin (Wedge) operation, orchestrated by the StB, seems to be eventually successful, Leschtina writes.

The dissidents' duel over Zacek seems to be quite irrational. It is bizarre that the people who have the worst experience with the StB are demanding the sacking of a director who has managed to move the archives of security forces from the Interior Ministry.

In fact, their concentration in an independent institution irritates the Social Democrats and the Communists. If they win parliamentary elections, they will want to close the USTR. For this, they may use the demagogic argument: Havel has signed a petition questioning its activities, Leschtina concludes.

Former finance minister Bohuslav Sobotka (Social Democrats, CSSD) is not a good boy as he would like to present himself, Daniel Kaiser writes about the latest scandal in the Czech national airliner CSA in Lidove noviny.

Three years ago, a few days before he left the office, Sobotka decided that CSA managers would have their financial bonuses calculated on the basis of the year 2005, financially a failure, Kaiser writes.

This can be called absolutely certain profit without any effort. Social Democrats have traditionally tried to focus the anger of manual workers on such behaviour, Kaiser writes.

The time has come to look at Sobotka in the same way as at the crushing majority of politicians, which means without any illusions.

Any party has the need of presenting a good boy in its midst. However, the pseudo good boy with a necktie, as denoted by Social Democrat leader Jiri Paroubek in 2009, himself is not any guarantee of anything, Kaiser concludes.

The Greens were a promising party four years ago, having a leader with a backpack on his back, giving promises and claiming that they will differ from established, ossified parties, Alexandr Mitrofanov writes in Pravo.

They also said that anyone will be allowed to learn what their policies are at any time.

Years have passed and now the Greens are preparing themselves for another congress.

However, the following can be quoted from a news agency report: "The party leadership is proposing that internal debates of delegates and candidates should only be conducted in special places, not in the main room before the cameras," Mitrofanov writes.

"What a progress!" Technicalities will be still debated in the main room, but real issues will be discussed elsewhere.

This will save time and energy and benefit the environment, Mitrofanov writes sarcastically.

Author: ČTK
www.ctk.cz