PM: Gov't to revise social policy

Prague, Oct 15 (CTK) - The Czech government will maybe have to revise some not quite functional steps taken by the outgoing Labour and Social Affairs Minister Jaromir Drabek (TOP 09), Prime Minister Petr Necas (Civic Democratic Party, ODS) told journalists yesterday.

In the regional and Senate elections held last Friday and Saturday, the coalition government parties were routed, while the left, mainly Communists, scored a landslide victory.

Necas said a debate on the social card sKarta (sCard) that was being created would perhaps be needed.

According to a plan of the Labour and Social Affairs Ministry, the social cards are used by eligible recipients to draw social benefits. The people are expected to use the sCard to draw the relevant cash sum from ATMs. They can also use the cards for payments.

The plastic cards also serve as disability certificates for their holders.

The distribution of sCards has been underway since this summer. About 600,000 of them are to be distributed by the end of the year. As from January 2013, they are to be newly used also by the unemployed.

The sCard system's operator is the Ceska sporitelna (CS) savings bank, which won the relevant tender.

The system has been criticised as "anti-social, discriminatory and very suspicious," by the opposition Social Democrats (CSSD).

The project was prepared by the then deputy minister Vladimir Siska, who faces prosecution for suspected bribery and who was taken into custody a few days ago.

Drabek has resigned over the scandal.

"I consider some steps taken by Drabek problematic, at least in the technical sphere," Necas said.

He reacted to the words of TOP 09 leader, Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg. He said after the election debacle that the government and TOP 09 should moderate some of its steps in the social sphere.

Schwarzenberg said the impact of them had not been rightly estimated.

Necas went on to say that even in the second half of its term of office, the government's top priority, responsible budget management, would not change.

"However, with the second half of the term, accents on what the government does logically changes. We must focus more on the growth agenda. We should renew economic growth," Necas said.