Weekly review no. xx
14.06.2024
A lesson learned in the Czech Republic too
In the Czech Republic, too, the European elections were a reckoning with government policy. Prime Minister Petr Fiala's Spolu alliance managed to achieve a relatively good second place with 6 of the 21 seats. However, the Mayor's Party and especially the Pirates were caught off guard. Five years ago, they had won 3 seats, but this time they only managed one.
As expected, the ANO party of former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš won and will enter the EU Parliament with 7 seats. ANO benefited from the increased voter turnout to 36.45 percent. That was an increase of almost eight percentage points. The losers also included the anti-EU right-wing nationalist SPD, which only has the abbreviation in common with the German Social Democrats. They only won 1 instead of 2 seats. The right-wing populists around the Czecho-Japanese Tomio Okamura usually manage to get around 10 percent in parliamentary elections. This time they only managed to exceed 5 percent.
The electoral alliance of "Car Drivers and Oath" came in completely unexpectedly at over 10 percent, which is enough for two seats in the new EU Parliament. They chose racing driver Filip Turek as their top candidate, who attracted attention with some tasteless gestures and Nazi-approving rhetoric. This was evidently well received.
The electoral alliance "Stačilo!" (Enough is enough!) came in just behind. This is a similar platform to the BSW in Germany. The communist and long-time MEP Kateřina Konečná is also rhetorically adept and is more to the right than to the left on issues such as climate protection and migration. That was enough for 2 mandates.
In the Ústí region, where ANO traditionally has its stronghold, the party did significantly better than in the whole of the country. The Spolu alliance received correspondingly fewer percent. Things also looked slightly better for the Motorists and the alliance of Kateřina Konečná as well as the Okamura party. The Mayor and the Pirates were below the national average.
Overall, the European elections brought further gains for Eurosceptic parties. They predominantly advocate a more rigid migration policy and a weakening of the Green Deal. The number of their mandates rose from around 12 to 16-17.
Exchange of old crowns ends in banks
From July 1, the exchange of old banknotes will only be possible in branches of the Czech National Bank (ČNB). These are banknotes in denominations of 100, 200, 500, 1,000 and 2,000 crowns issued between 1995 and 1999. They were withdrawn from circulation at the end of June 2022. Until the end of June, every commercial bank branch will accept them and exchange them for new notes.
The old notes differ from the new banknotes primarily in the width of the security strip. This is wider on the new notes. In addition, the color of the strip remains the same when the banknote is turned over. The stripes on the new notes change color from brown-violet to green. Other features are colored dots in the white field on the left and the year of issue indicated (see image).
According to the central bank, there are still around 41 million old banknotes in circulation. In addition to the headquarters in Prague, there is also the possibility of exchanging the banknotes in Ústí nad Labem.
Ústí District attracts filmmakers as a film location
There are places in northern Bohemia that you think you have seen before. In a film, in fact. The small town of Úštěk near Litoměřice, for example, with its picturesque and, above all, still historic backdrop, was the setting for films such as the American tragicomedy Jojo Rabbit or the Czech Oscar winner Kolja from the 1990s. Sometimes places only appear briefly, such as the Tisa Walls in The Chronicles of Narnia, as well as the Pravcicka Gate. If you would like to research more, we recommend the website www.filmovamista.cz .
The Ústí region would now like to expand the film business and has launched a 50 million crown (around 2 million euros) funding program. The production of feature films, TV films, series and documentaries will be funded. Even though the funding amounts are manageable - a maximum of 3.5 million crowns (140,000 euros) is possible per film - the region is expecting good demand. The funding comes from the "Fair Transformation" fund, which was set up for regions that are phasing out coal mining. 15 billion crowns (600 million euros) are earmarked for the Ústí region alone.
It is well known that it takes more than money to attract film productions to northern Bohemia. For eight years, a film office in the Ústí region has been supporting film productions. It arranges attractive filming locations and takes care of communication with the relevant municipalities, authorities and institutions. The Ústí region hopes to receive direct income from the film business and indirectly promote tourism.
Conference on "homesick tourism" of displaced persons in Teplice
How did private trips by Sudeten Germans who had been displaced from the GDR to their old Czech homeland contribute to new friendships and reconciliation? How difficult were these trips and what conflicts stood in the way? These and other questions were addressed at a conference in Teplice entitled "Displaced persons, (homesick) tourists and 'new settlers'" in the border regions of the GDR, Czechoslovakia and the People's Republic of Poland, organized by the Euroregion Elbe/Labe together with the German Society. Around 70 participants from the Czech Republic and Germany heard lectures from 15 scientists from the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland and dealt with the topic from several angles in five rounds of discussions. The conference was opened by the Vice-Captain of the Ústí District, Jiří Řehák. The conference itself also took place in an unusual location: in the rooms of the Garden Restaurant of the Monopol Brewery near the spa district of Šanov (Schönau), which was created by combining historical buildings and new construction.
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