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Kopecky, Josef
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2 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
The Lisbon treaty still has a long way to go in Prague
Following a lengthy tug-of-war the EU's Treaty of Lisbon cleared its first hurdle in Prague after the Czech Republic's lower house of parliament approved it on Wednesday. But the wait for final ratification could be a long one, writes the liberal daily Mladá fronta Dnes: "In the Senate [the parliament's second chamber] the vote could be even more difficult because the opponents of the treaty in the strongest parliamentary party [the liberal-conservative ODS] wield great power there. And then there's President Václav Klaus. He has repeatedly stressed that he wants nothing to do with the treaty until the Irish change their mind after the failed referendum. It is therefore still uncertain whether the treaty will be definitively ratified in the Czech Republic, which holds the rotating EU presidency until the middle of the year. … No one can force Klaus to sign. The Lisbon treaty is not like a regular law where the parliament can override a presidential veto if necessary."
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More from the press review on the subject » EU Constitution, » Domestic Policy, » Czech Republic
Floods and elections
The Czech Republic has been hit by heavy flooding for the third time in ten years, and a state of emergency has been declared in many parts of the country. Josef Kopecky believes that the way the government deals with this disaster will have a major impact on the parliamentary election results. He points out that following the last major floods in 2002, then prime minister Vladimir Spidla was rated by 75 percent of Czechs as the most trustworthy politician. The commentator quotes political scientist Tomas Lebeda: "'The floods in Germany helped Gerhard Schröder's government in the 2002 general elections. President Bush, on the other hand, saw his popularity plunge because he underestimated the impact of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans.' Now Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek has been presented with an unexpected opportunity and is making the most of it. He makes several media appearances a day and is stressing how much the government is doing to manage the crisis."
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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Czech Republic
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