Sobotka calls on ČSSD members to support Dienstbier for president

Prague, Jan 7 (CTK) - Czech senior opposition Social Democrats' (CSSD) chairman Bohuslav Sobotka has asked fellow CSSD leaders to sign an appeal to the CSSD members to vote for the party's candidate, senator Jiri Dienstbier, in the forthcoming direct presidential election.

In their letter, released by www.Parlamentnilisty.cz, Sobotka and other supporters of Dienstbier explain why they do not wish the election of either Milos Zeman or Jan Fischer, the two former prime ministers who are widely viewed as the election favourites.

They ask supporters of some of the other eight candidates to prefer casting their ballots in support of Dienstbier in the first election round on January 11-12.

"Our candidate Jiri Dienstbier has a real chance to make it successfully through the first round of the election," Sobotka wrote in his appeal to CSSD members that is to be released on the Internet on Tuesday.

The authors of the appeal, titled "We need a president who unites people" write that Zeman, former CSSD PM who has fallen out with the party and is now running for the Citizens' Right Party (SPOZ), is linked to the outgoing President Vaclav Klaus and surrounds himself with untrustworthy people. While Zeman was prime minister in 1998-2002, a number of corruption cases emerged. Moreover, Zeman has not explained the origin of the money he has used to finance his presidential campaign, the authors write in the appeal.

"His witty style should not overshadow the fact that he is no longer a competent thinker. The president is not supposed to be an entertainer," the appeal reads.

At variance with the party's stand, Zeman's candidacy has been openly supported by CSSD honorary chairman Valtr Komarek, deputy chairwoman Marie Benesova and former regional governor Jaroslav Palas.

Fischer, the unaffiliated former interim prime minister, has no clear opinion and as a candidate he is nothing but a product of the media and advertisements. Moreover, he was a member of the Communist party before the 1989 fall of Communist regime for opportunist reasons, the appeal reads.

Its authors say they recognise certain merits and charm of Karel Schwarzenberg, foreign minister who is running for president for the conservative junior ruling TOP 09. Nevertheless, they mind Schwarzenberg's membership of the present cabinet and say Schwarzenberg would not manage executing the president's tasks properly.

They say Dienstbier is a candidate with a clean shield, sticking to principles and ideals. He comes from a dissident family, his father, the late Jiri Dienstbier Sr was the first Czechoslovak post-1989 foreign minister.

Dienstbier is the most popular Czech politician, the authors of the appeal say, referring to public opinion polls.

They turn mainly to supporters of actress Tana Fischerova, artist Vladimir Franz, Christian Democrat MEP Zuzana Roithova and Schwarzenberg, asking them to prefer supporting Dienstbier.