Czech Republic:
Cutting Havel down to size

At the end of August the ruling Social Democrats and the right-wing 
Civic Democrats (ODS) were crushed in a key Senate by-election. As a result 
they lost their combined two-thirds majority in the upper house.

This has complicated the SocDem-ODS joint plans for major constitutional 
changes limiting the powers of the Czech President and "reforming" the 
electoral system.

The balance of power in the Senate as far as constitutional changes are 
concerned is now held by the four Communist Senators and the by-election 
victor, independent Senator and wealthy businessman Vaclav Fischer.

Although Communist leaders say they would back specific reductions in 
presidential powers, they will continue to oppose electoral changes aimed 
at creating a two-party system based on the Anglo-American model.

Fischer, boss of the Czech Republic's biggest travel company, campaigned 
against the SocDem-ODS "grand alliance" which has effectively ruled the 
roost in the Czech Republic since last year's early general election. He is 
therefore most unlikely to support the core constitutional changes which 
have been agreed by a joint SocDem-ODS commission.

These are not proposed out of any concern to radically democratise the 
Czech political system, but to advance their own partisan interests in the 
pursuit of power at any price.

President Vaclav Havel, who has three years of a five-year term still to 
run, and his allies on the anti-ODS parliamentary right (the Freedom Union 
and the Christian Democrats), naturally oppose a reduction in presidential 
powers.

ODS leader and former premier Vaclav Klaus bitterly attacked Havel in a 
recent radio interview, claiming that from his first day in office Havel 
had sought to expand his powers and political role.

It's a view shared by many Czechs, which also helps to explain the slump in 
Havel's popularity over the last two years.

The SocDem-ODS joint commission proposes, among other things, to restrict 
the powers of the President to halt or discontinue criminal proceedings and 
quash or reduce sentences handed down by the courts.

Havel halted the trial — on "humanitarian" grounds — of a former Charter 
77 "dissident" colleague accused of forging documents so that she could 
acquire property in Prague.

More recently, he used the same powers and pretext to prevent the trial of 
a Kosovar Albanian refugee charged with assault. After he had left the 
country, the police discovered he had been involved in drug-smuggling.

Another change opposed by Havel affects his right to appoint key state 
officials — members of the central bank's governing body and Supreme Court 
judges. Havel alleges that this would interfere with the "independence" of 
the Czech National Bank and the judiciary.

In fact, both the SocDems and the ODS are committed to full independence of 
the central bank, as required by the IMF. But they want their own say in 
appointments, especially because of their quarrels over monetary policy 
with Havel-appointees like the present governor of the Czech National Bank, 
Josef Tosovsky.

It was Tosovsky who Havel appointed as caretaker premier in the run-up to 
last year's election to implement his policy of accelerating Czech 
membership of NATO and the EU and privatisation of key banks and companies.

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Postmark Prague

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