The global construction company Skanska has come up with an original initiative to deal with the idiosyncrasies of the world of Czech public tenders. The Swedish-based company has established a subsidiary, Skanska kvalifikační, the sole aim of which is to participate in public tenders with unreasonable financial conditions.

The chief of the Supreme Prosecution Service (NSZ), Pavel Zeman, wants to resuscitate floundering anti-corruption efforts by creating a special team of elite prosecutors. In an interview with Czech Position, Zeman says the initiative is one of several measures he intends to introduce to make the service more effective — and to restore public confidence in the organ.

Public Affairs (VV) deputy Michal Babák is again making headlines in connection with his party’s financing. Apart from the Kč 6.5 million he was already known to have ‘lent’ to VV, it now emerges that in March the junior coalition party allegedly borrowed another Kč 5 million from him. The Finance Ministry’s special auditing arm, the FAÚ, has handed evidence of money laundering over to the police. Can the ‘wizard’ Babák ‘cast spells’ to clear his name?

At first glance, the installation might appear to be a celebration of modern Czech history, or perhaps a photographic exhibit (albeit with lengthy explanations of the artists’ conceptions). In fact, it’s an attempt to jog the collective memory of the nation about recent dark chapters since 1989, according to sociologist Šárka Hastrmanová, executive director of Respekt Institut, which is hosting it.