Socialist Medicine
The Party of European Socialists (PES) kicked off its eighth congress in Prague last Monday, the same day the Copenhagen climate summit started.
While to a certain extent the socialists hitched their wagons to the higher-profile affair to the north by publicizing their effort at holding a “carbon-free” event, the main effect has been that of relegating the congress to the back pages of the news. This was the first time a top-level party congress was held in one of the EU’s New Member States. According to PES general secretary Philip Cordery the choice of Prague was chosen to support the electoral bid of the Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD) ahead of next year’s elections.
The publicized arrival at the site of the congress of the head of the CSSD Jirí Paroubek, PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen and a number of other party leaders following a three-stop tram ride was meant to represent the event’s reduced carbon footprint and the seriousness with which Europe’s socialists take environmental issues. But beyond issuing an appeal supporting firm negotiations in Copenhagen nothing significantly new was presented regarding European environmental policy.
The other centerpiece of PES policy is support of increased financial regulation and reform of the capital markets. In his opening speech however Rasmussen admitted that the European left had missed an opportunity. “Overall, people are not convinced that the financial crisis is a failure of right-wing ideology. And they are not convinced that we have a credible alternative,” Rasmussen said, bemoaning electoral failure of socialist parties in European elections and blaming what he referred to as the “sofa party,” or voter apathy for the disappointing results. While acknowledging that new steps and initiatives were needed to get the socialist message across though Rasmussen’s own re-election to another five-year term as PES President represented the continuity of the assembled and, at times, dissimilar parties.
One national party which found itself again included in the European socialist mix was Slovakia’s largest governing party Smer-Social Democracy (Smer-SD) of Prime Minister Robert Fico. Smer was suspended from PES in 2006 after forming a coalition government with the right-wing Slovak National Party (SNS). PES members voted 93 percent in favor of readmitting the Slovak party in spite of its continued coalition with the SNS. The Belgian and Hungarian parties remained opposed.
While Smer is now expected to try to garner mainstream prestige by showing themselves as part of a Europe-wide movement the host party CSSD also defined its own benefits from being a part of a larger whole. “Those claiming that we are worse than communists or that we are a sort of crypto-communists will have it worse now,” Paroubek said, according to the Czech News Agency (CTK).
Karl Marx was unavailable for comment.
Via Czech Business Weekly
Czech Social Democrat leader meets Syrian Baath officials
Czech opposition Social Democrat (ČSSD) leader Jiří Paroubek Wednesday met senior officials of the Syrian ruling Arab Socialist Baath Party, but the talks had no "specific political content," he said.
Paroubek was reacting to the server iDnes.cz that wrote that the Social Democrats had established contact with a brutal dictatorial party openly sponsoring terrorism and that they discussed cooperation.
Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek said Paroubek's trip was regrettable. "The so-called foreign policy of the opposition runs counter to the Czech Republic's interests," Topolánek told journalists in the White House.
Topolánek is now on a visit to the USA.
Topolánek said the trip had to be discussed. "While in the opposition, we never pursued any foreign policy different from that pursued by the government," he added.
Topolánek said he would prefer Paroubek and Social Democrat deputy chairman of the Chamber of Deputies Lubomir Zaoralek to travel to Syria as tourists.
Topolánek said he had been donated from U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez, who was of Cuban origin, a white bracelet, a symbol for which people were sent to jail in Cuba at present.
"Upon my return, I will wear it on account of Paroubek and Zaoralek," Topolánek added.
Baath is a pan-Arab party with the headquarters in Damascus. It seeks Arab unity from the Persian Gulf to the Atlantic Ocean.
It has been ruling in Syria since the 1963 coup. No parties but Baath and its allies are allowed in Syria.
Referring to the Syrian media, the server iDnes says that Paroubek stressed at a seminar on European policy that Syria had to be part of any peace process and voiced support to the Syrian right to the return of the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War.
Paroubek said the ČSSD had consulted Czech Foreign Ministry before his visit to Syria and the delegation was accompanied by the Czech ambassador to Syria.
"As a result, all talks of the ČSSD delegation are being conducted in keeping with the Czech foreign policy official line towards Syria," Paroubek said.
Czech Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zuzana Opletalova confirmed to ČTK that the office knew about the Social Democrats' visit to Syria.
"According to our information, these are the talks on the party level. As a result, we cannot or will not comment on them," she said.
Paroubek is accompanied by his wife Petra and Zaoralek, ČSSD shadow foreign minister.
The Syrian side invited the Social Democrats and has covered the costs of their accommodation.
The ČSSD delegation is scheduled to meet representatives of Syrian industry and trade but also top representatives of the state administration and parliament, for instance, the Syrian parliament chairman and the foreign minister.
The visit was organised by the Czech-Central Asian mixed chamber of commerce within its efforts at improving the Czech Republic's trade relations with central Asian countries, the ČSSD said.
Syria's about as geograhically central to Asia as China is to the Mid-West.
Via The Prague Monitor
Meanwhile, SANA, the Syrian news agency, reports thatAssistant Secretary General of al-Baath Arab Socialist Party Abdullah al-Ahmar discussed on Tuesday with Chairman of the Czech Social Democratic Party Jiri Paroubek means of bolstering the cooperation between the two parties.
So much for no 'specific political content'.Al-Ahmar briefed Paroubek on the economic reforms in Syria, pointing out to Syria's encouraging investment atmosphere. He also briefed him on the latest regional development and the party's stances regarding them.
For his part, Paroubek affirmed his country's interest in pushing the peace process in the Middle East forward and developing relations with Syria in all fields.
Later, in a seminar on the European policies towards Arab causes, Paroubek affirmed that Syria is a key player in the region, adding it is wrong to overstep it. He stressed that Syria must be a part of any peace process, expressing his support of Syria's right to restore its occupied land in the Syrian Golan.
Paroubek added that his party follows a balanced policy towards all parties in the Middle East, and that it is necessary to find a peaceful resolution to the region's problems.
Regarding Syrian-Czech relations, Paroubek underlined the need to boost trade, tourism and cultural relations, pointing out to Syria's historical sites that are considered an important tourist attraction.
In another entry, SANA provided a more revealing anglePresident Bashar al-Assad discussed with Chairman of the Czech Social Democratic Party (SDP) Jiří Paroubek means of further enhancing and developing the existing cooperation and friendship between al-Baath Arab Socialist Party and the SDP for the best benefit of the two countries.
President Assad and Paroubek also reviewed the latest developments in the Middle East, stressing necessity of establishing a just and comprehensive peace in it.
The meeting was attended by Assistant Secretary General of al-Baath Arab Socialist Party Abdullah al-Ahmar, the delegation accompanying Paroubek and the Czech ambassador in Syria Tomas Ulicny.
Mr. Paroubke on Wednesday highlighted Syria's active role in the region in solving the Middle East problems, calling for enhancing Syrian-Czech relations in economic, culture and tourist fields.
Amazing. Absolutely amazing.
Via SANA
ČSSD to enforce party loyalty
The senior opposition Social Democrats (ČSSD) have launched fight against the practice of defection among parties' members, ČSSD chairman Jiri Paroubek and ČSSD deputies' group head Michal Hasek said at a press conference Tuesday.
The ČSSD, which has recently lost three deputies, pledged in a document called For a New Style in Politics not to accept defectors from other political parties.
The ČSSD also called on other parties in parliament to make a similar public commitment, thus contributing to the cultivation of the Czech political scene.
In other words, they fear and loathe competition. How incredibly . . . socialist. Or, neo-coM."We call on the [senior ruling Civic Democrats] ODS to leave this style of politics, which is much close to an organised crime environment than to democratic political competition," the ČSSD's document writes.
Cry me a freakin' river; then call in some backup to clean up the damn mess.The ČSSD is also going to draft a bill to regulate lobbying, Paroubek and Hasek said.
Three former ČSSD deputies have left the party recently, supporting its rival, the ODS.
First, MPs Milos Melcak and Michal Pohanka left the ČSSD after they enabled the establishment of the ODS-led government in early 2007.
They also voted for the re-election of Vaclav Klaus, nominated by the ODS, as president in the election last Friday.
Another ČSSD MP, Evzen Snitily, was expelled from the party deputies' group last Friday after he disclosed shortly before the election that he would voted for Klaus.
The ČSSD, along with the junior ruling Greens and other individual MPs, promoted Klaus's rival, liberal economist Jan Svejnar.
Many say Klaus, who was elected by votes of a narrow majority of 141 of 279 lawmakers present, owes his success to Snitily's unexpected change of mind and to the absence of Greens deputy Olga Zubova on health grounds.
Paroubek has asked Snitily to give up his mandate of a deputy, which Snitily refused to do.
Snitily's local ČSSD branch in East Bohemia is yet to vote on his expulsion from the party.
Via The Prague Monitor
Neither Hillary nor Billary was availble for comment.
*** The witch hunt is on. Snitily's alleged to be a StB collaborator
