Golden Prague, Expat life, tips and reviews

So THE VISIT is over

Image source by adrigu via flickr

President Obama and his wife, and the approximately 500 people in his entourage, should by now be in Turkey. His speech at Prague castle this morning was attended by circa 30 000 spectators and well received by them and by the media. President Obama made every effort to point out the historical and current importance of the Czech Republic in Europe and the world. Let’s only hope this gives the much needed boost to the chronically low national Czech self-esteem.

Other points of the speech were:

The responsible use of energy, oops Mr. Obama, how was your carbon footprint during this journey and how do you think to off set it?

Nuclear disarmament and the stopping of the testing of nuclear devices; as he stated perhaps not in his lifetime, but as a goal.

Unfortunately he also affirmed the strong wish of the US government to continue with the building of a missile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland. Apparently to keep Iran under control/ supervision. I am the only one that is now confused? I mean, look at the map, we are not actually sharing a border with Iran, do we???

The full length video of Obama’s speech in Prague can be found here: BBC Web Site

Obama has a cold

US President Barack Obama flew into Prague 18:30 this evening for a summit with EU leaders. The Czech Republic is the current holder of the EU presidency and President Obama is expected to deliver tomorrow at 10:00, a keynote speech on nuclear security.

Image source via wikicommons

As said earlier, the situation here is a bit frosty for him. Whilst he is liked on a personal level by the people, 70% of the Czech citizens are against the planned “radar shield”, seeing it as a provocation of the almighty neighbour Soviet Union Russian Federation. Former Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek not only described the economic path Obama took in his own country as a “road to hell”, he also lost the confidence of the parliament some days ago, leaving the country some how “leaderless”.

Now arriving at this central European capital, with its rather interesting domestic political situation, is not so easy to begin with, but arriving here with a bad cold and without an American ambassador in residence makes the situation surely even less pleasant for President Obama and First Lady Michelle. Therefore they plan to have a quiet, private evening together after being welcomed by President Vaclav Klaus at Prague international airport. I hope somebody turned the heating on in the residence

Tomorrow then the “big speech” in the grounds of the castle, rumour has it, that an amount of people is already camping out there, to be the first in the queue tomorrow morning.

This EU-USA summit should have been the highlight of the Czech EU presidency, but as Topolanek is not any longer in the position to speak, and make decisions, for the Czech Republic, and the 27 member states of the EU, this becomes somehow – less relevant?

What will, in all cases, stay with us is the immense cost of such a visit, 30 000 000 CZK or more. I wonder if it is worth it?

Finally! Details to Obama’s Prague visit!

The American embassy in Prague has finally published details regarding President Barack Obama’s visit to the Czech Republic. There will be one public speech by the American president, in the Hradcany Square, the gates open at 07:00 and tickets are NOT required. So please don’t fall for any scams regarding Obama tickets. Please read also carefully the list of forbidden items to bring as surrendered items will NOT be returned.

Image source

Be also aware of pickpocket, the masses that are expected are an ideal “hunting ground” for the baddies. I couldn’t find the time for the speech on the web site, but other sources state that Obama’s speech in Prague will be at 10:00. I am sure that an incredible amount of people will try to gain access to this event, with hundreds, possibly thousands queuing hours before the opening of the gates at 07:00. I am sure that some many will even try to camp overnight to have the best place in the morning. In case you go, have fun, for me it will be a bit to crowded

Czech Government collapses –

Nobody at home to welcome Obama?

Image source via wikicommons

Just a quick notice about something that I just found on Reuters

The facts:

Yesterday, Tuesday 24^th 2009, the Czech government collapsed after having suffered a no-confidence vote and elections are not very likely to happen before fall/ autumn this year. The next regular election was scheduled for middle-late 2010 or even for spring 2011. The parties could agree on a new government, !if they could agree with each other!, something that is not very likely to happen. All this might let the Czech Republic dangle in political limbo, less than two weeks before Barack Obama’s visit to Prague. The Czech Republic is also currently holding the EU presidency and will do so for three further months.

President Vaclav Klaus, not being known for being particular EU-friendly, has now the right to pick the next prime minister. Topolanek, the ?current? prime minister would like to have a second try, but is lacking the necessary majorities in both houses. That leaves the deciding power in the hands of a few independents from both sides of the political spectrum. Topolanek’s cabinet could be left in power for weeks or even months, even after it resigns, to avoid political insecurity and instability.

What will happen now?

The president appoints a new prime minister, but there is no time pressure for him to do so, as the constitution is rather vague in this point. This new prime minister must than “survive” a vote of confidence for his/ her newly formed government. If s/he fails the circle begins again. In the third round, if it comes to this, the right to nominate passes on to the speaker of the lower house. And if that fails (They are prepared for everything The president can than dissolve the house and call an early election, which might be or might not be earlier than 2010 when the next regular election is scheduled.

So far President Klaus has not communicated when he would appoint a new prime minister and much less who it might be. 1998, in a similar case, the constitution was amended, with the agreement of a majority of 3/5 in both houses, to allow for an earlier election. Getting a 3/5 majority for anything, is, at least at the moment, not very probable.

The implications:

The country will run smoothly for a while, with or without functioning government, that is the advantage of having a “bureaucrazy”. The EU presidency might get a bit bumpy, but also nothing to worry about, they have bureaucrats also in Brussels More to worry about two other points:

Who will be the next prime minister? Will it come to a shift towards the left side of the political spectrum? Will the pendulum swing to the other side after the last government, which was a bit more on the “right” side?

And with whom will Obama speak about the planned stationing of the radar devices in the Czech Republic which are meant to be an important part of the missile defence and radar system of the NATO? This is something the vast majority of Czech citizens disapprove of strongly! Obama will find a host and a hospitable welcome when he comes to Prague, but it is not very likely that he finds a decision maker to talk to.

Update to Obama’s visit to Prague

What was only a well informed rumor when I wrote “Obama is coming to Prague” got now confirmed by the government of the United States of America. Michelle and Barack Obama will visit Prague on the 4^th and 5^th April to meet with Czech officials and with leaders of EU member states. Prague is on the “presidential map” because the Czech Republic holds at the moment, the presidency of the EU.

Image source: official President B. Obama portrait

The goal of this visit is, to quote a White House press release, “to build a stronger partnership between the United States and the EU, one which will enable us to better confront our shared challenges together.” No word so far if that includes also discussions about the planned radar facility in the Czech Republic that is, to put it mildly, not well received by the Czech population. It is felt to be an, unnecessary, revival of cold war tactics against the countries that one day made up the Soviet Union.

There are new rumors in Prague that Obama will deliver a “European speech of the year”, preferably open air and with the castle in the background. Good luck for this, Mr. President, don’t forget April in central Europe can be a bit, let’s say, unpredictable. I personally think that President Obama would also prefer to give a key speech to the European leaders in a different setting than his predecessor George Bush in 2007. Bush made that speech indoors, with the Prague Castle provided via a – wallpaper.

Image source

So my guess is that President Obama would prefer a true outdoor setting, like in Berlin where he spoke before the Brandenburg Gate to approximately 100.000 Germans.

As soon as I get my hands on the official program for Barack Obama’s visit to Prague I will post an update here!