The minister of finance, Miroslav Kalousek, has described an
anti-government protest by trade unions on Saturday, which was the Czech
Republic’s national day of the fight for freedom and democracy and the
anniversary of the start of the Velvet Revolution, as shameless. Mr.
Kalousek made the comment on a television debate programme on Sunday. He
said the demonstration had been legitimate but that the government was not
willing to implement a socialist programme. On a different TV show the
chairman of the Senate Milan Štěch, who is a former trade unions leader,
said the sentiments expressed in the protest, which was held beneath a
banner reading Stop the Government, were shared by most Czechs.