The Czech Political Thermometer

Winter 2003 Czech Political Thermometer

Prepared by the Center for Democracy and Free Enterprise (CDFE)
What follows is a summary of important events that have taken place since the last thermometer was sent out, with a special focus on the November 2002 Senate Elections, the Prague NATO Summit, and the February 2003 election of a president to replace Vaclav Havel.
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Results of the 2002 Senate Election
Elections were held November 4, 2002 for 27 of 81 seats in the Czech Senate, a third of which is replaced every two years. The ruling coalition of the lower chamber formed by CSSD, US-DEU and KDU-CSL lost their one vote senate majority of 41 seats, winning only nine of 27 possible seats in face of the relative success of ODS, which added four seats to its previous total of 22. CSSD dropped from its previous total of 15 seats and now has 11 senators, while the Christian Democratic Union-People's Party (KDU-CSL) lost all but one of the six seats it was defending, ending up with 15 senators. Independent candidates and smaller parties each recorded successes -- together they won 7 new seats and will now have a total of 14 seats.

Senator Vladimir Zelezny
The only senator to be elected in the first round of elections (receiving more than fifty percent of votes), TV Nova director Vladimir Zelezny continues to be the subject of a police investigation. At the request of the Senate, the Czech police handed over all documentation regarding their case against Zelezny. After reviewing this information, the Senate Immunity Committee decided to revoke Senator Zelezny's parliamentary immunity.

Specifically, Zelezny and his former lawyer Ales Rozehnal have been accused of making suspicious money transfers of Zelezny's property to several companies in order to avoid the freezing of his assets. Zelezny is also suspected of tax evasion to the amount of CZK 6.8 million in connection with paintings he imported from abroad.

NATO Summit in Prague
The Prague NATO summit (Nov 21-22) saw Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia invited to join the 19 member Alliance, which will expand in 2004 to 26 members.

From the 19th of November to the 22nd, the area around the Prague Congress Center where the summit was held was cordoned off, as was the Municipal Chamber and adjacent areas; only local residents who were issued special permits were given access to these security zones. Czech and American warplanes patrolled the skies above Prague. In all, some 12,000 police, soldiers and Special Forces personnel protected approximately 2000 delegates including more than 40 heads of state.

It is estimated that some 150,000 to 200,000 Prague citizens left the capital to avoid restrictions imposed by the security measures on the suggestion of their government.

Though Prague authorities were prepared for an estimated 12,000 protesters, rallies were only a fraction of the size of those seen in Prague during the IMF and World Bank meetings. In all, only a few thousand protestors turned out, outnumbered by police forces in riot gear recently purchased by the Czech government at a cost of 350 million crowns. Tight security measures were in place before and during the Summit, turning away many potential protestors. From September 19 to November 20 Czech border security prohibited approximately 320 foreigners from entering the country.

The Czech Crown (CZK) and Finance
The proposed budget of state finances for 2003 is 111.3 billion CZK, which represents 6.4% GDP (Maastricht criteria: max. 6% of GDP). The balance of trade for 2002 reached a 74.5 billion CZK deficit, a significant improvement in comparison to 2001 (116.7 billion CZK). It is important to note that the deficit was lowered even in a situation of a constant strengthening of CZK. In 2002, the Czech crown's exchange rate rose by 10.6% against Euro and 16.2% against the USD. (source: MF CR).The total public deficit in 2002 reached 20% GDP (Maastricht: max. 60% GDP).

Defense
The Czech Chemical Warfare Unit has been stationed in Kuwait since March as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. The main part of the Czech contingent is stationed at Camp Doha with the Enduring Freedom troops.

Floods
The final cost of last August's floods, which hit 15% of the country, is estimated at up to 70 billion crowns. Thirty billion crowns of this will be covered by a European Investment Bank loan, income from the Cesky Telecom privatization revenues and a shift in budget priorities. Four hundred municipalities and over 220 000 inhabitants were evacuated.

Prime Minister Spidla commented that the state will be able to draw on 3.7 billion crowns from the newly created European Solidarity fund, which will also be used for the renovation of flooded areas and for the payment of thus far unsettled expenditures incurred by municipalities for relief work during floods. This is the first time EU money was put toward a non-member country.

Presidential Elections
Under the Czech electoral system, every presidential election consists of up to three rounds. That is, should no candidate win a majority in both chambers of the parliament (the chamber of deputies comprising 200 seats, the senate 81), the process is repeated a second time. In the event that the second round fails to elect a president a third round is held in which the majority required is calculated in terms of the total voices in both Chambers. If there is still no victor after the third round, a new election is called and the entire process is repeated.

After holding three such elections (for a total of nine rounds), the Czech government chose Vaclav Klaus on February 28, who will take office on the seventh of March, as successor to Vaclav Havel.

In the first election neither former Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus nor Christian Democrat Petr Pithhart, Chairman of the Senate, managed to secure enough votes to claim victory, Jaroslav Bures of CSSD having been knocked out in the first round. The second round was also inconclusive, as was the third.

The stalemate necessitated the elections of January 24th in which Klaus participated, winner of the most votes in the previous election, and the newly introduced former CSSD leader Milos Zeman. The Christian Democrats and the Freedom Union Party both refused to back the latter, however, instead opting to nominate senator Jaroslava Moserova (ODA) after having withdrawn Pithart. The Communist party, with a total of 41 seats in parliament did not nominate a candidate.

In the first round Zeman was defeated by both Moserova and Klaus. Again, none of the candidates acquired the necessary 101 votes in the lower chamber, or the 41 required in the senate.

The second round in the second election was still indecisive, with neither Klaus nor Moserova able to gain a majority in both chambers because of the high percentage of abstaining voters.

A third round failed yet again, with similar results.

The third election saw the emergence of Jan Sokol, the Dean of the Faculty for the Study of Humanities at Charles University and former deputy in the Czechoslovakian parliament. Facing off against Klaus, the first two rounds saw a repeat of previous impasses: in round one Klaus could claim victory in the chamber of deputies with 115 votes while Sokol held a majority in the senate. The second round was similar.

This election finally saw a decision made in the third round in which Klaus won 109 seats in the chamber of deputies and 33 in the senate, whereas Sokol garnered 78 voices in the lower chamber and 46 in the senate. The final count out of the 281 seats, then, was Klaus 142, Sokol 124, giving the former ODS party leader one more voice than necessary to claim victory.

Both chambers of parliament - the chamber of deputies and the senate - elect the president at their joint session. Each presidential candidate has to be backed by at least ten deputies or ten senators; candidates can only be Czech citizens over 40 years of age who are eligible to vote. The president in the Czech Republic is elected for five years, and one person can only serve two terms in office.