Czech press survey - October 17

It is not certain, but almost certain. This means that the election result may be different, but one can hardly imagine a different outcome, Skrabal says.

He notes that the turnout in the general election will be higher than in the regional elections held last weekend, which might weaken the Communists because the number of their supporters, who are known for high participation in polling, is limited.

But it may happen that the number of KSCM supporters will grow in the Czech Republic, Skrabal writes.

If the CSSD lets the Communists excel in the regions after the elections, the Communists many start being acceptable for many people, he says.

The CSSD won the regional elections, followed by the KSCM that markedly improved its position in the regional self-rule assemblies and will increase its share in power in the regions.

Both the CSSD and the KSCM are left-wing parties opposing the government. If the CSSD is strong, the KSCM will be weak, and vice versa. The Social Democrats should not contribute to the strengthening of the KSCM when forming coalitions in the regions, Skrabal writes.

Health Minister Leos Heger (TOP 09) wants to raise the fee for visiting a special doctor without recommendation from a general practitioner, which may be reasonable, but to propose this between the first and second rounds of the Senate elections is a political sabotage, Petr Honzejk says in Hospodarske noviny.

Two TOP 09 candidates and 10 candidates running for the senior government Civic Democrats (ODS) are looking forward for any possible support from the coalition government now, Honzejk writes.

But instead the government gives further arguments to the CSSD and the KSCM that the right wing is socially insensitive and harms the poor, he says.

The government may make even the dissatisfied people who planned to stay at home on the day of the second round of the Senate elections to cast their vote in protest. Congratulations, Honzejk says with irony.

The Prague CSSD branch openly supported Communist candidate for senator Jiri Dolejs ahead of the second round of the Senate elections, which is something one cannot imagine in the anti-communist 1990s, Daniel Kaiser says in Lidove noviny.

The CSSD and the KSCM have apparently got closer to one another in the last ten years, Kaiser notes.

Yet it is something new for the CSSD to back the KSCM deputy chairman Dolejs, who represents the party on the national level. Moreover, it seems a provocation in the anti-communist capital city of Prague, Kaiser writes.

It is a bargain, in which the CSSD exchanged support for Dolejs for support for its candidates, Kaiser says.

Author: ČTK
www.ctk.cz