ČSSD smooths path to Zeman at congress, shows desire to win

Ostrava, North Moravia, March 16 (CTK) - The Social Democrats (CSSD), the strongest Czech political party, showed readiness to head for governance in 2014 at their congress Saturday, a goal they may achieve easier after smoothing relations with their former chairman Milos Zeman, the incumbent president.

Zeman, who fell out with the CSSD in the mid-2000s, offered friendship to the senior opposition CSSD in a closely watched speech at the beginning of the party's two-day congress on Friday.

He received the delegates' standing ovations for saying that as a Czech citizen he wishes the CSSD's victory in the next elections due in 2014.

Zeman recommended that if the CSSD won, it should form a one-party cabinet based on an agreement of the left forces in parliament.

The CSSD seriously reckons with this variant, the advantages of which were also emphasised by Slovak Prime Minister and Smer-Social Democracy chairman Robert Fico in his speech at the CSSD congress.

An alternative still in consideration is the CSSD's forming a majority coalition with centrist parties, if some, probably new ones, enter the new Chamber of Deputies.

The CSSD's direct government cooperation with the Communists (KSCM) seems ruled out now that the congress refused to scrap the party's resolution from 1995 that bans the party from cooperating with extremist entities including the KSCM.

The congress confirmed the strong position of the CSSD's leading tandem. Both CSSD chairman Bohuslav Sobotka and first deputy chairman Michal Hasek were smoothly re-elected. In spite of previous mutual disputes, both seem determined to manifest unity of the party leadership.

The congress's step towards a reconciliation with Zeman and a victory of Zeman's fans in the CSSD was the ousting of senator Jiri Dienstbier, the CSSD's candidate in the January presidential election, from the post of party deputy chairman and his replacing with Milan Chovanec, governor of the west Bohemian Plzen region.

The step was "outweighed" by the ousting of Zeman's supporter Marie Benesova as CSSD deputy chairwoman and the filling of the seat, reserved for a woman, with senator Alena Gajduskova.

Zeman will also be undoubtedly pleased by the CSSD's plan to introduce property statements, a step he has also promoted.

The CSSD congress approved a list of programme points "New beginning for our country" as a document to base its future elections programme on. It sums up the party's plans for reviving the economy, change taxes, enhance the welfare state, also by rejecting the pension system's "second pillar" promoted by the present right-wing cabinet.

Sobotka said he plans to replace the weakest members of the CSSD shadow cabinet in a few weeks.

An amendment to the party statutes, approved by the congress, provides the party leadership with more powers in influencing the party's lists of candidates. This should prevent, among others, the regional lists from being entered by people with good connexions but a horrible reputation.

In his opening speech at the congress, Sobotka said the CSSD will take over the rule in "a devastated country" after the polls next year. Other delegates, too, did not spare the present cabinet of Petr Necas (Civic Democrats, ODS) their criticism.

The biggest visible conflict at the congress was over Dienstbier's remaining in the party leadership, where Sobotka wished to have him.

Apart from it, the CSSD successfully presented itself as a consolidated and mature political entity with an ambition to take up government responsibility and also win the Senate, local and EU elections next year.