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There are currently no conditions or reasons to renew Czech-Slovak intergovernmental consultations, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala stated on Sunday on the discussion programme Václav Moravec’s Questions. The reason for the recent cooling in Czech-Slovak relations is the current foreign-policy activities of the Slovak government led by Robert Fico, for example his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Mr. Fiala repeatedly rejected Mr. Fico's accusation on Friday that the Czech political and media scene interferes in Slovakia's internal political affairs. "I do not interfere in Slovakia's internal affairs, none of my colleagues do," the Czech prime minister said. In his view, criticism of activities that are not in the interest of Czechia does not constitute interference in Slovak internal affairs. However, Mr. Fiala said that the prime ministers and ministers of both countries are negotiating bilaterally, and he is expected to meet Mr. Fico as part of Monday's EU talks in Brussels.
Senator and former Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Miroslava Němcová is facing harsh criticism and threats from Russian officials over a fake post on the X network that called for a renewed blockade of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). According to the Russian news agency TASS, the Czech politician's fabricated statement is to be investigated by the Russian Investigative Committee, which deals with serious crime. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called the senator an "malicious animal" and expressed his wish that she "perish in the bloody storms of a new Prague Spring" in a Telegram post.
In the fake post, Mrs. Němcová allegedly called for a new blockade of Leningrad, a reference to the brutal Siege of Leningrad in the Second World War. The senator has called the post a forgery, but it was circulated on Russian media and on social networks over the weekend. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Speaker of the Senate Miloš Vystrčil have condemned Moscow's threats. "Threatening Senator Miroslava Němcová with an investigation due to a non-existent post on social media only confirms once again that lies and intimidation are the usual methods of propaganda of the current Russian regime," Prime Minister Fiala wrote on X on Saturday.
The ANO movement would now clearly win the 2025 elections to the Chamber of Deputies with 35.1% of the vote, according to the latest election model of the STEM Research Institute. The ruling Spolu coalition would come in second by a wide margin, with 18.8% of voters. The Mayors and Independents (STAN) would come in third with 10.6%.
The model also predicts that the opposition party Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD), the Pirates and the Stačilo! coalition would also enter the Chamber of Deputies, while the Motorists would remain below the required 5% threshold. The current election model gives the Motorists 4.1%, while the leftwing SOCDEM party has the support of 2.8% of voters, and the Oath party (Přísaha) and the Greens each have 2.1%.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Petr Fiala stated on the Czech Television discussion programme Václav Moravec’s Questions that in the next election period, it would be realistic for Czechia to increase defence spending from the current 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) to 3%, if the ruling coalition remains in government. In the budget for next year, Mr. Fiala wants to increase the amount for defence to 2.1% or 2.2% of GDP, so that the government has a reserve and can confidently reach at least the 2% spending limit.
According to the prime minister, an additional 1% of GDP amounts to about 85 billion crowns. He also wants to discuss the gradual increase in defence spending at Monday's meeting of the presidents and prime ministers of European Union member states in Brussels, which will focus on defence. In the short term, the prime minister wants to achieve a slight increase in defence spending next year, so that Czech can safely meet its 2% NATO commitment. He added that from the perspective of the Czech economy, increasing defence spending is a good investment.
Tomio Okamura, the chairman of the opposition Freedom and Direct Democracy party (SPD), will not attend the meeting of the parliamentary mandate and immunity committee on Tuesday, which will consider the police's request for his extradition for criminal prosecution. Okamura told ČTK on Sunday that he does not intend to defend the party’s electoral campaign last year, nor to legitimise the "political farce" of the ruling coalition in front of representatives of other political parties.
The police suspect Okamura of inciting hatred against a group of people in connection with last year's SPD billboard campaign. One of the posters depicted a dark-skinned man with a bloody knife and a bloodied shirt, along with the text "Deficiencies in the healthcare system will not be solved by imported 'surgeons'". This campaign before the regional elections targeted the European Union's migration pact.
Sunday morning was frosty in the southwestern Šumava area for the second day in a row, as temperatures again dropped to -20 °C, the České Budějovice branch of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute reported. The coldest temperature was recorded at a weather station in the Březník valley, where meteorologists measured -20.1 °C shortly after sunrise.
Meteorologists in Šumava and southern Bohemia measured similar values on Saturday. The trend of extremely low temperatures in the early morning will probably continue on Monday and Tuesday.
Monday’s weather will be cloudy, partly cloudy in some places, especially in the southwest. Highest temperatures from 1 to 5 °C, and in the mountains around -2 °C.
To mark the 50 th anniversary of the Prague metro we explored some of its iconic stations. In conclusion, here is a look at what the new metro line D will look like.
Petr Muk (born on Feb 4, 1965) was a Czech pop singer and composer who grew up in communist Czechoslovakia but was influenced by Western bands like the English synth-pop duo Erasure, The Cure and Depeche Mode. At the time, recordings of Western music were secretly smuggled into the country by people lucky enough to be allowed to go abroad.
When in 1990, Minister of the Interior Richard Sacher issued an order to abolish all central departments of Czechoslovakia’s State Security organisation (StB), he brought to an end the more than forty-year period of one of the main instruments of Communist terror in the country. For many, this meant the end of an era of oppression, violence and fear.
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