Der Standard: Poll result show loss of collective memory

Vienna/Berlin, Oct 15 (CTK) - The results of the Czech weeekend regional and Senate elections, in which the unreformed Communists (KSCM) as well as politicians suspected of corruption in the past scored a success, is an example of a collective loss of memory, Austrian daily Der Standard writes yesterday.

"The latest regional and Senate elections in the Czech Republic are the best proof of how short human memory may sometimes be in politics. The unreformed Czech Communists who are reluctant to clearly dissociate themselves from their Stalinist past two decades after the revolution succeeded as a political force setting the tone at many places," Der Standard writes.

It writes that the Czechs also suffer from¨a loss of memory in relation to corruption.

It writes that the irony is that the Communists "gained a sensationally relative majority in one Prague Senate ward thanks to Jiri Dolejs who was filmed with a hidden camera several years ago when agreeing to intervene for money in favour of lottery lobbyists and to influence the respective bill," Der Standard writes.

It also expresses surprise at the success of Jiri Cunek (Christian Democrats, KDU-CSL) who almost reached the 50 percent barrier needed to be elected to the Senate in the first round.

"A couple of years ago, when Cunek was deputy prime minister, his corruption scandal paralysed then government for several months. The state attorney's office intervened in an unprecedented way because the government's survival was at stake, and the case was quickly shelved," Der Standard writes.

The Berlin daily Der Tagesspiegel writes about a "triumph" of the Czech Communists.

It also recalls that they have not undergone any reformation since the fall of the Communist regime in 1989 and that they have remained an "orthodox left-wing party."

Their election gains will result in far-reaching changes in all Czech politics where the unwritten rule that one does not rule with communists has been applied to date.

Der Tagesspiegel writes that the weekend elections were an important barometer of moods before the January direct presidential election.

The left-wing daily Neues Deutschland sums up the election results under the headline "Citizens have punished Necas's government."

It writes that the voters made out an account to the centre-right government coalition for its corruption scandals and incessant disputes between the government parties.