Demagog.cz have built a reputation as the leading Czech political fact-checking group. But how does their approach to evaluating the accuracy of politicians’ claims differ from the work of similar organisations in other countries? And what happens when political parties challenge their assessments? I discussed these questions and more recently with Demagog.cz expert Lenka Chudomelová. […]
Andrej Babiš, tasked with forming a new government after his party ANO won a decisive victory in the election in October, is looking to tax church restitution funds, the daily Lidové noviny writes. The funds until now were exempt in a deal agreed between a previous center-right government and religious organizations, to offset damages caused […]
The centrist Czech political parties that like to call themselves “democratic” and the business interests behind them have underestimated Andrej Babiš every step of the way. In panic, they overplayed their hand in the 2017 election campaign, thinking that an anti-Babiš platform would prevail. The result was an overwhelming ANO victory in Oct. 2017, […]
Rumours about Miloš Zeman’s illnesses are repulsive. But they make it clear that there should be a system in place so voters know the health of presidential candidates. The voters have a right to know the health of presidential candidates. So that they (to put it harshly) know what they are buying. The presidential […]
The Pirates party has said that it would not tolerate a government without confidence ruling the country for a longer period and would file a complaint with the Constitutional Court. Party leader Ivan Bartoš made the statement in response to President Zeman’s words that a government without confidence was better than early elections. The […]
The former head of Slovakia’s National Memory Institute says he came under pressure over the case of ANO leader Andrej Babiš and the archive evidence suggesting he was an agent for the communist era secret police, StB. Ondrej Krajňák said in an interview with Czech Radio that he came under political pressure over the […]
No more than nine candidates of 20 who registered to run in the presidential election this week will be eligible, the Interior Ministry’s Klára Pěknicová confirmed on Friday. According to the official, 11 candidates did not fulfill the necessary legal requirements, either failing to submit enough signatures from the public or from lawmakers or filed […]
Former prime minister Mirek Topolánek failed to register a campaign account by Tuesday in line with filing his bid to run in the upcoming presidential election, Czech Radio reported Friday, adding the account created later was non-transparent. Mr Topolánek unexpectedly announced his decision to run for president last Sunday and secured signatures from 10 […]
Who is Andrej Babiš and where is he likely to lead the Czech Republic in the years to come? Those are questions that the foreign media are asking in the wake of the Czech general elections which Babiš won hands down. Although he is ostracized by the traditional parties Babiš is fighting to make good […]