Русская версияThe Chamber of Deputies on Friday passed an amendment to the law on employment that enables to issue "green cards" to foreigners as of next January and toughens the conditions for state welfare payments and unemployment benefits.
Paral writes that the Internet reactions to the bill on "green cards" are full of racist and xenophobic remarks, so there is no wonder that the senior opposition Social Democrats (CSSD), who so closely monitor the public opinion, have reacted in line with it.
CSSD deputy David Rath, for instance, warned against "the spreading of tuberculosis, AIDS and other illnesses" caused exactly by the government amendment on employment.
A decent man must feel disgusted by such statements, Paral adds.
"Those who are not blind can see that the Czech Republic lacks a high number of people willing to work manually. Every businessman who has looked for a construction worker or a cleaning lady knows it very well," Paral writes.
Moreover, a crushing majority of foreigners work illegally in the Czech Republic and they do not pay tax to the state. On the other hand, they are forced to pay high sums to various "mafia-like" job mediators as well as to corrupt policemen and those who provide visas for them, Paral recalls.
Such workers will welcome green cards as an efficient aid though they could definitely imagine a much more flexible and easier process of the cards granting, Paral points put.
He adds that the toughening of conditions for the Czech unemployed is also a positive step in spite of the criticism.
"In plain terms, it is normal to work and every government that reminds of it in a similar way is doing the right thing," Paral concludes in MfD.
The real war between President Vaclav Klaus and PM Mirek Topolanek (Civic Democrats, ODS chairman) is waged on the internal political field, though they have recently clashed weapons over foreign policy, expressing different views of the Russian-Georgian conflict, Lukas Jelinek writes in Pravo today.
Klaus, former ODS long-term head, who did not welcome Topolanek's election as ODS leader, may simply intend to "put an end to Topolanek's suffering" and get rid of him.
If Klaus and his allies succeeded in toppling Topolanek from the party helm at the ODS autumn congress, Topolanek would definitely have to resign as PM as well, Jelinek says.
Klaus as the head of state could then replace Topolanek by anyone he would like.
It is apparent from his speeches that Klaus has set out on "a rescue mission" with the aim to return the ODS to its roots and win back the voters who appreciate "sophisticated irony and elegance of cuff links," which has faded away with jovial Topolanek, uttering vulgar expressions and pushing for rough reforms, Jelinek says.
"We will soon learn at the ODS congress how many allies longing for the good old days Klaus has," Jelinek writes in conclusion.
China with 47 gold medals has definitely won the Olympic Games that, however, also revealed the Chinese scandalous approach to athletes, Adam Nenadal writes in Lidove noviny (LN) today.
He recalls the scandal around Chinese little girls whom sport officials pass off as 16-year-old gymnasts. Yet these girls with a lot of make-up on their faces to look older are only "the tip of the iceberg," he adds.
Chinese sport complexes are producing "an army of champions," but those "army members" who have either less talent or good luck are useless for the regime. According to human rights organisations, up to 80 percent of Chinese athletes are living on the edge of poverty and a number of them have their health irreversibly damaged by doping, Nenadal adds.
The International Olympic Committee is investigating the affair with Chinese gymnasts under the age limit, but it apparently does not mind outfits for many sponsors of the Olympics being produced by other Chinese kids under humiliating conditions, Nenadal writes
"It is, however, not welcomed to find faults with the Olympic business...," Nenadal concludes in LN.
(Ceske Noviny)
more info >>
<< Back