Former Civic Democrat MP Michal Doktor warns the draft church restitution deal may not win sufficient support when it comes before the lower house for its second reading in June. The vote may represent a real test for the center-right Czech government in rallying its troops behind a widely unpopular proposal. Doktor suggests the financial settlement could be softened for the state in order to keep the settlement on track.

The Czech government has repeatedly declared the upmost importance and policy priority of supporting Czech exports to countries outside the EU. It is apparently concerned about the quality of services provided by the state to Czech exporters attempting to penetrate into new world markets. The reality is, however, somewhat different: it appears the prime concern is securing lucrative jobs in the state sphere and control of billions of crowns.

According to an opinion poll published Thursday, 42.5 percent of Czech voters believe a minority government headed by the center-left Social Democrats (ČSSD) with the silent support of the Communist Party of Czech and Moravia (KSČM) would be more beneficial for the country than the current center-right coalition headed by Petr Nečas (Civic Democrats, ODS).

A Czech parliamentary committee investigating whether the source of explosive tapes purportedly exposing the links between shady business interests and former Prague mayor Pavel Bém has called for the domestic intelligence service (BIS) to make public all its information about the tapes; MPs also want greater government cooperation in getting to the bottom of the scandal.