Czech Greens focus on corruption, pollution in election campaign

08:06

March

2010

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The Czech Green Party (SZ) will focus on fight against corruption, lowering of pollution, promotion of green economy, and higher investment in education, science and culture in its election campaign, Greens head Ondrej Liska said after the party´s national council meeting today.

The Greens want the release of all important information on public orders on the Internet, the end of bearer shares due to which company owners may remain unknown, and the establishment of a central database of applicants for public orders.

Liska said the UOHS antimonopoly office should check also small orders and the Supreme Audit Office (NKU) needed to have power to punish bad management of public property.

The Green Party will push for changes in technical standards for transport construction in order to make the costs of the projects markedly low.

Liska said the party promotes such green economy where the investment would save far more money in future thanks to energy saving.

The economic part of the programme was created in cooperation with economists Miroslav Zamecnik and Tomas Sedlacek who were members of the Government National Economic Council (NERV) that helped the government cope with the economic crisis last year.

The party will call for a stricter law on air protection to lower the pollution in Czech cities. It also wants to continue supporting environmentally friendly household heating.

The Greens are against the breaking of coal mining limits and they criticise the bad management and possible privatisation of the Lesy CR forestry company. They propose to increase the payments for the use of agriculture land for other purposes than farming.

More state money is needed in the education system, Liska, former education minister, said. Czech universities should be divided in three groups: educational, professional and research, he added.

Culture should receive more money through taxes paid by gambling operators.

Liska said the Greens will invest at least 5 million crowns in their campaign. The party hopes to receive financial contributions from donors, he said.

Opinion polls indicate that the Greens may have problems to defend their seats in the lower house.

The smallest party in parliament plans to attract voters also through known personalities of the public life, including former president Vaclav Havel.

source:ceskenoviny.cz