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Kamberský, Petr
4 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
Petr Kamberský on Europeans' dislike for European unity
"The lesson the [European] elections teach us is clear: Europeans do not long for more integration", writes Petr Kamberský in the business paper Hospodářské Noviny. "Consequently there is no reason to strengthen the Union. ... There is no European nation. The United States of Europe is a dream born in the literary cafés which has nothing to do with reality in the foreseeable future. The only people who are on the move are students, a handful of business people and professionals. They commute back and forth over continents, because their unique services are everywhere in demand. The rest of Europe stays put at home, aside from the ten weekends a year it spends in Porto, Ljubljana or Prague, that is. However people's dislike for unity doesn't mean they have no interest in Europe and its four cornerstones. The problem is that decisions on the free movement of people, goods, services and capital are made by the undemocratic European Commission, not the Parliament. All Parliament does is pass one surperfluous resolution after the next."
» full article (external link, Czech)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » EU Constitution, » Elections, » Europe
The end for Prague's futuristic national library
A judge in Prague yesterday put a definitive end to the futuristic project for a new Czech national library. The business newspaper Hospodářské noviny writes that President Václav Klaus' opposition to the library lies behind the ruling. Klaus had made no secret of his distaste for the proposed building, which the Czechs endearingly called the 'octopus'. "The president is a powerful man. He has stopped a construction project that had won a conventional tendering procedure. And in so doing he has further strained relations between this country and its most famous architect. ... This 'Hussite' who once saw no difference between the Catholic Church and a garden colony, was able to do all of this with a single sentence: 'The octopus looks down arrogantly on St. Vitus Cathedral'. It's no wonder that the head of state meddles in every matter, because there are always enough people to dance to his tune."
» full article (external link, Czech)
More from the press review on the subject » Architecture / Cities, » Czech Republic
The US considers Russian participation in the missile defence shield
US Defence Minister Robert Gates managed to embarrass the Czech leadership in yesterday's talks regarding the controversial US missile defence shield. Gates proposed that Russian soldiers make up part of the team at the planned radar station in Western Bohemia. Petr Kamberský comments: "It's as if an abomination in the Czech Republic's past which we showed the door in 1989 were coming back in through the window. ... One can't rule out the possibility that if the threat from Iran continues to grow a genuine cooperation will spring up between the Russians and the Americans. At present it looks like Gates' refined strategy has paid off, just as Vladimir Putin's did when he proposed that the Americans set up a base in Azerbaijan. It sounds good, makes headlines, but has no practical consequences."
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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Czech Republic, » Russia, » U.S.
What's next in the Czech Republic?
In the Czech Republic, efforts to form a new government, which have been going on for five weeks now, have been complicated by the parliamentary stalemate between Conservatives and Social Democrats. Petr Kambersky sees the crisis as an opportunity to improve the system. "One possibility is the incumbent social democratic Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek's offer to introduce a first-past-the-post electoral system. Since the Czech Republic's independence there have been four elections, not one of which has produced a functional government majority. The reason for this is simple. A certain proportion of the parliamentary seats are occupied by (communist) extremists, and it's virtually impossible to build a majority of more than 100 from the remaining seats. This is the real problem we should be discussing."
» full article (external link, Czech)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Czech Republic
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