Klaus condemns direct presidential elections

Prague, Dec 7 (CTK) - The direct presidential election is a populist nonsense that will have terrible consequences, Czech President Vaclav Klaus said at a meeting of the Euro weekly with business managers Friday.

"The idea that voters will select the president is quite erroneous," Klaus said.

"The president will be selected by the media and the voters will then approve him," he added.

With the step, the big parties have scored their own goal and are aware of it, Klaus said.

Klaus voiced his fear for the fate of democracy due to the current recession.

He said the crisis had spilled into politics and people's elementary feelings.

Besides, it calls for radical political steps that can only worsen the situation, Klaus said.

"I fear for democracy. I also fear for the situation in which you will invite the president for the meeting next year and it will be either Mr Franz or Mr Okamura," he added.

"We should be very cautious as champagne was also offered on the deck of the sinking Titanic," Klaus said.

Klaus said the present-day situation had no fast and easily formulated solutions.

"Any solution will be a long process," he added.

Composer and artist Vladimir Franz, whose face and body are fully tattooed, is one of the eight official candidates for the election that will be held on January 11-12, 2012.

Tourism businessman of partly Japanese extraction Tomio Okamura is also seeking the post, though the Interior Ministry has rejected his bid over problems with the signatures on the petition that is required for the candidature.

The two candidates of the biggest parties, Premysl Sobotka and Jiri Dienstbier, fielded by the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) and the Social Democrats, are far behind the former prime ministers Jan Fischer and Milos Zeman in opinion polls.