The Czech government hailed the Cabinet deal paving the way for a proposal for nationwide referenda as a significant breakthrough. The fine details of the proposal and obstacles that any petition for a referenda will face before it can be put to the people and the thin chances of such a vote getting the required 50 percent participation puts a very different slant on the so-called move towards direct democracy.

Women only compartments on Czech trains are an abuse of men's human rights and help to stereotype them as dangers to the opposite sex, says a Czech men's association. It has launched proceedings to challenge the pilot project by the state-controlled rail company.

Škoda Transportation posted a net profit amounting to 27 percent of turnover for 2010 thanks to orders from Czech Railways (ČD) and from Czech towns and cities, which accounted for around 80 percent of the firm’s total sales for the year. By comparison, the most recent financial results for the world’s largest manufacturers of locomotives, trams, and light railways are considerably lower.

The Swiss investigation into alleged corruption during the privatization of Czech mining firm Mostecké uhelné společnost (MUS) has dominated the front pages of the Czech dailies in recent weeks. But most media have presented a fairytale according to which billions of crowns are waiting in Switzerland to be collected by the Czech government with the High Public Prosecutor’s Office in Prague interfering.