1. travel
2. tourist facilities
3. hotel

Jackpot burnout
‘Financial fatigue’ deters
Eurojackpot players despite the
near-maximum prize on offer
Business page 4
Dicey diplomacy
71
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Monday, 18 May 2015
New US Ambassador riles the
Castle but makes an ally of
Andrej Babiš
Feature pages 12–13
Population peril
With so many Czechs having settled for one child or no
children at all, studies show the country is not far from lacking
hundreds of thousands of economically productive people
I
t starts almost imperceptibly, creeping in
with barely detectable
symptoms, just like a serious illness. And, as with any
epidemic, no-one really heeds
the warnings preceding it. The
numbers eventually seem inexorable: the Czech Republic is
running out of people and the
country is slipping towards a
demographic precipice. Data
from studies available to
Euro magazine suggest that
the number of people in the
economically active category,
i.e. between 15 and 64 years
of age, will drop by as many
as two million by 2020. And
there is nobody to reverse the
decline.
One piece of the jigsaw
puzzle is known already. The
Czech Republic is growing
older and the numbers of oldage pensioners (OAPs) will
keep on swelling. But there
is another piece that is not discussed nearly often enough.
Population predictions for the
period up to 2050 compiled
by statisticians show that
there are currently approximately 3.6 million economically active men and
about the same number
of women. These numbers have been on an
upward trend until
recently. Things reversed around the
year 2010.
Continues on
page 8
Illustration: Shutterstock
Petr Weikert
2/3
news
Zeman queries sanctions at Kremlin
Igor Záruba’s notebook
Putin praises Czech president’s forthright opinions. But he says nothing about power plant debts
Strong formation.
For the meeting with
Putin, Zeman took
along the head of his
presidential office,
Vratislav Mynář,
and his advisor
Martin Nejedlý, the
Executive Director of
Lukoil Aviation Czech
Radek Pavlovič
Prague representatives have
voted to dismiss Zdeněk
Schwarz, the head of Prague
Ambulance Service for the past
16 years. Schwarz will leave his
post on 30 June while the City
selects a new director.
The decision to fire Schwarz
was the culmination of protracted disputes between the
service’s management and
employees. Claims about an
“autocratic style” were made.
Zdeněk Schwarz declined to
comment.
In January, employees started preparing strike action,
supported by 170 of the service’s 430 employees.
hoped the ongoing decentralisation of powers within the country would bring each region a
certain measure of autonomy.
According to Zeman, Ukraine
should aim to be a neutral country. Its integration into NATO
was apparently something which
“that elite club is unanimously
not in agreement with”. Zeman
also suggested that Russia could
accede into the European Union
within 20 years. Putin expressed
his delight at Zeman’s arrival at
the Kremlin. “In Europe there
remain politicians capable of directly delivering their opinion
and defending their stance,” he
said. Alluding to the sanctions,
he added that he hoped for a full
revival of the relations previously
enjoyed by Russia and the Czech
Republic.
After his roughly-one-hour
discussion with Putin, Zeman
disclosed to journalists that the
conversation had also turned to
Photo: ČTK
Ambulance
service chief
dismissed
Photo: Reuters
T
he situation in Ukraine is
now satisfactory, according to President Miloš
Zeman, and the European Union could by the end of this year
lift sanctions imposed against
Russia in reaction to its annexation of Crimea and support for
the separatists in the Donbass
region. “Even though some local
incidents occur, the civil war in
the country has practically ended,” Zeman told Russian radio
station Kommersant FM.
Zeman, who criticised the
sanctions as soon as they were
introduced, was the only European Union head of state to meet
Russian President Vladimir Putin bilaterally in Moscow on the
occasion commemorating the
70th anniversary of the victory
of the Soviet Union’s armed forces over Nazi Germany. However, he did not go ahead with
his original intention to attend
the spectacular Red Square military parade arranged for the
day, devoting the time instead
to a meeting with visiting Slovak
Prime Minister Robert Fico.
The Czech president discussed Ukraine with Russian counterpart Putin. He stated that he
debts totalling CZK 9.1bn that
are owed to Czech firms by Russian entities. “We concentrated
on the biggest case, relating to
perhaps five billion crowns for
the construction of a gas-fired
power plant in Salekhard,” he
said. Putin made no comments
on this matter.
The issue dealt with during
the Zeman-Fico encounter was
the development of transport infrastructure and the connecting
of the Czech river Morava with
the river Váh, a 406-km tributary of the Danube in Slovakia.
“This is a huge project which
Zeman has long promoted. He
provided me with some background materials,” said Fico.
No statesmen from the EU’s
major powers were present in
Moscow for the WWII anniversary.
PMs opposed to EC
migrant shares
The European Commission’s
unveiled plans for a quota
system targeted at spreading
the burden of its migration
emergency across member
states has been described as
unacceptable by both Slovak
PM Robert Fico (pictured left)
and Czech counterpart Bohuslav
Sobotka. Both leaders are in
principle in agreement with
accepting migrants. But Sobotka
objected to the EC proposal
released last Wednesday, which
outlined how the Czech Republic
should resettle as many as
525 migrants as part of its fair
share. Before becoming an
applicable law in the EU, the
proposal requires the approval
of member states’ governments
and the European Parliament
Big Mac bows to kale
Photo: ČTK
The Jihlava rainforest
Work on the tropical rainforest pavilion at Jihlava Zoo has entered the final stretch. The
pavilion, featuring a waterway, mighty tree trunks and a waterfall, is designed to give a person
the sensation of having actually walked into a rainforest. It is the final and most substantial
construction of the extensive EU-funded project named A Zoo of the Five Continents, which has
cost CZK 135m
‘Banned’ land mines case
challenged by expert
Pavel Otto
Activities of the organised
crime squad under Robert
Šlachta undertaken in the
Excalibur Army armaments
company case are sparking
ever bigger doubts. The second part of the Vrbětice
munitions depot investigation – which has so far resulted in the prosecution of two
legal entities and five people
charged at the end of March
with the development, manufacture and possession of 500
anti-personnel mines banned
by the Ottawa Treaty – appears to lack a clear body of
underpinning evidence.
Excalibur Army and Real
Trade, as the legal entities,
and their five managers, have
been charged on the grounds
of an expert report compiled by police bomb disposal specialist Pavel Studený.
However, the report has been
disputed in a submission by
expert witness Jiří Chládek.
E15 daily has acquired both
documents.
Burger behemoth McDonald’s has set off a breakfast
revolution, offering kale dishes
at select US outlets. The menu
fad is called Turkey Sausage
and Egg White. It is one of two
new breakfast bowls on trial
in California, the other being
Chorizo and Egg. Sure, it’s only
a test, but the move confirms
the ailing chain’s unmistakable
effort to reinvent itself as
“trendy-progressive”. Whether
this new superfood push
expands beyond the state
whose official motto is “Eureka! I have found it!” evidently
depends upon its impact.
McDonald’s has so far stayed
mum about the culinary experiment’s future. The junk food
corporation has been waging
a near non-stop battle to
update its image as a purveyor
of bland, mass-produced,
unhealthy meals – increasingly
out of favour with consumers
as tastes broaden and healthconscious (and flavour-conscious) eating spreads. Even
in the Czech Republic, the
iconic symbol of the West is
more and more passed over
in favour of a growing number
of newer, more vibrant burger
joints. Kale appears a smart
choice: it is a current buzz
food among vegetarians and
regular foodies. The fact that a
recent Big Mac ad mocked this
cabbage-like veg will just have
to be forgotten. But ultimately,
new McDonald’s CEO Steve
Easterbrook will need more
than a kale u-turn to reverse
falling sales. He may well need
a big breakfast to start off his
day.
Jan Šindelář’s notebook
Throttled
Our populist, left-of-centre
government has just shown
itself to be thoroughly
anti-social. Ministers have
approved new rules meaning a so-called “eco-tax”,
in which buyers pay a sum
commensurate to a car’s
emissions standards, will
also apply to cars 10 yearsold or more. This means
cars which are far behind
today’s cleaner fuel-burning technologies. Not for
the first time, the government has thus decided to
Photo: ČTK
FOREIGN POLICY
Pavel Otto
squeeze a little more out of
the country’s “bottom 10
million” (as Miloš Zeman
famously put it). Clearly a
result of pressures from
automaker lobbyists, the
rules amount to daylight
robbery. Firstly, owners will
find their cars are suddenly
impossible to sell. Secondly,
the second-hand market
will be hit, as costs will go
up. And the net result of all
this is reduced mobility for
all. Worth recalling come
the next election.
This could be explosive.
Vrbětice munitions depot may be hiding some secrets
According to Chládek, the
mines seized at the depot are
not subject to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention.
“The investigation by the police bomb disposal specialist
omitted the essential issue of
whether the particular tech-
nical solution for the priming
of the mines makes the submitted samples of MON-100
and MON-200 type mines
subject to the Convention
or not,” claimed the report
written by the munitions
expert.
E15 weekly, economic and business newsmagazine | www.e15.cz |
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4/5
business & markets
Consecutive public holidays also put a squeeze on lottery ticket sales, says Sazka
purchasing. We also had two
four-day work weeks in a row,”
said Václav Friedmann, a spokesperson for Sazka, which
holds the licence to operate
the Eurojackpot in this country.
Ticket sales held up from
the public holiday Fridays
of the 1 and 8 May probably
contributed to the growth of
ticket sales at the beginnings
of the last two weeks, on the
Mondays and Tuesdays. “Conversely, the end-of-week sales
were comparably weaker, either through people engaging
in other activities or their
Lottery
Dušan Kütner
S
even months after
Czechs were for the first
time in their lives given
the chance to buy a ticket for
one of the international lottery games, they too are enjoying the thrill of potentially
winning billions. Yet despite
the Eurojackpot’s top prize
moving up to CZK 2.469bn
(around EUR 100m) a week
ago, people in the Czech Republic only bought tickets
worth a mere CZK 40.3m,
somewhat below the previ-
budgets getting stretched,”
added Friedmann.
Having secured the necessary permits to operate
Eurojackpot after some 18
months of negotiations with
the lottery owners and the fi- Dropping tradition.
nance ministry, Sazka can be Sazka’s main lottery game revenues were just shy of CZK 90m
Photo: ČTK
ous week’s result. That really does not smack of lottery
madness.
“We see the reason for the
decline in a certain financial
fatigue: as we get close to the
payout, ticket buyers cannot
maintain the level of ticket
Photo: Michael Tomeš
Having secured the necessary permits to operate
Eurojackpot after some 18 months of negotiations with
the lottery owners and the finance ministry, Sazka can be
satisfied despite the slight dip in recorded takings
satisfied despite the slight dip
in recorded takings. Weekly
revenue from Eurojackpot ticket sales oscillated around
CZK 40m over the last three
weeks, having reached record
levels since last October when
the Czech Republic launch of
the Eurojackpot occurred.
On the other hand, the last
two weeks saw a decline in
revenues from Sazka’s main
lottery game, Sportka, which
boasts a history of more than
50 years. Revenues were just
shy of CZK 90m, down from
CZK 100m-plus in the preceding weeks.
Friedmann maintained that
the Sportka revenue dip did
not mean it was being cannibalised by Eurojackpot. “The
last two weeks primarily came
under the influence of the extra day off on the Fridays. Moreover, Sportka saw jackpots
in both the first and second
draws being won on the last
Sunday of April,” he explained. He expected Sportka to
get a shot in the arm from a
planned marketing campaign
as well as from publicity surrounding the prizes on offer.
Chinese acquire
5 percent of J&T
speculation that the Chinese
would obtain as much as oneChinese group CEFC Shang- third of J&T Finance Group
hai International has acquired at a price approaching CZK
new shares issued by Slovak 20bn.
and Czech investment player
J&T Finance Group. The
Owners Jozef Tkáč and
Chinese acquired a five-percent stake in J&T for EUR Ivan Jakabovič have seen
78.95m, a sum equivalent to their J&T stakes fall to
CZK 2.17bn at the time of 47.5 percent each. The new
purchase.
shareholder now holds the
The stakes of the existing
other five percent
two owners of the group, Jozef
Tkáč and Ivan Jakabovič, were
reduced by the transaction to
CEFC Shanghai Internatio47.5 percent each, leaving the nal Group Limited is a subsidinew shareholder holding five ary of China Energy Company
percent. J&T Finance Group Limited. The holding is the
above all includes private biggest Shanghai-based pribanking-oriented J&T Bank vate company and the sixth
and Slovak market operator biggest private business in
Poštová Banka.
China.
CEFC concluded a strateIt is mainly active in the
gic cooperation agreement finance, energy and industry
with J&T last year. There was spheres.
Bonds reverse hits gov’t
borrowing
up and down
Miloš Zeman
Czech President
Jaroslav Bukovský
The world market in sovereign
bonds has in the past month
been shaken to its foundations. The longlasting trend of
falling bond yields, which has
reduced the cost of financing
government debts, has come to
a halt in an alarming fashion.
Investors have begun to massively shed their bond holdings,
causing bond yields to spike
sharply. The epicentre of the
upheaval is found amid the
most developed countries in
Europe. While the French government must now pay three
times more for 10-year loans
than it had to last month, Germany’s borrowing costs have
shot up by as much as 12 times.
A similar leap in yields was last
experienced by Europe during
2010 after Greece appealed
for international economic
assistance.
The Czech Republic, meanwhile, has not managed
to stay aloof from the bonds
reverse. The government was
last week faced with paying
twice as much interest as
was necessary in April on its
10-year debt bond securities.
While in the first half of last
month the Czech state was
borrowing at an annual rate
of 0.36 percent, by mid-May
He missed the big Moscow WWII victory
march-past, Putin slapped him on the back,
Fico collected his papers on linking the rivers
Morava and Váh, and when it came to the
more than CZK 9bn owed by Russians to
Czech firms... not a crown did he bring home.
JOHN HOLLOWS
CEO, ČSOB
Photo: Reuters
‘Financial fatigue’ curbs Eurojackpot
Tricky curve. Germany’s borrowing costs have shot up by 12 times
it was paying 0.76 percent. It
has never experienced sharper
growth in bond interest rates
in such a short period. Despite
the market changes, however,
the rates are still at a fraction
of the levels seen around the
time of the financial crisis. In
May 2009, the Czech Republic
was utilising 10-year bond loans at a rate approaching six
percent.
“Globally the conviction
has grown that inflation has
hit the bottom. The expectation of growth in prices is
strengthening, which is not
a favourable development
for bonds,” said Jan Čermák,
Head of Financial Markets
Research at bank ČSOB.“The
growth in due bond income
can have a moderately negative impact on European
economies in terms of rising
costs for credit, but the yields
seen in Europe and the Czech
Republic still remain very
low,” added Luboš Mokráš,
an analyst at bank Česká spořitelna.
While the payout rates on
bonds are rising, the impact
on bond prices pushes in the
opposite direction. In the past
month, the value of Czech government bonds has declined
by four percent, while similar
German issues have lost half
as much more.
The banking group’s first-quarter net profit
moved up five per cent year on year to reach
CZK 3.8bn. The volume of loans climbed
eight percent from a year ago to the level of
CZK 555bn.
Daniel Beneš
CEO, ČEZ
The first-quarter net profit of the energy
group fell 24 percent year on year to CZK
7.6bn. ČEZ proposed keeping its pre-tax
dividend at 40 crowns per share, matching
what it paid last year and in 2013.
Robert Chvátal
Boss of Sazka
Even though the Eurojackpot was offering a
near-maximum prize of CZK 2.47bn, lottery
ticket sales fell on a week-to-week comparison.
Sazka suggested the diversion of a public
holiday explained the lack of jackpot fever.
a dve r t i s i ng
A150001895
Jiří Zatloukal
Hockey
championship
deflects CZK
1.5bn into
economy
The IIHF Ice Hockey World
Championship that has just
concluded in Prague and
Ostrava is expected to have
injected around CZK 1.5bn
into the national economy.
David Marek, Chief Economist
at Deloitte Czech Republic,
said that revenues from
tourism and trade associated
with the spectacle could
alone range from CZK 600m
to CZK 800m
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6/7
The wrong mix
Jana Havligerová’s political diary
The problem
for Czech fuel producers
isn’t tax incentives
but the fact that the
government dictates
their product must
contain a certain
percentage of biodiesel
component in the blend
Advisors in the cross
hairs again
Kalousek claims rapeseed’s exclusivity
was pushed back in 2009 by Radmila
Kleslová (current ANO Deputy Chair),
then an assistant to Social Democrat
MP Miloslav Soušek
of interest problem over this matter becomes more obvious by the
day. It is, in fact, irrelevant that
this proposal ultimately failed.
Sure, passage would have saved
the Czech state as much as CZK
2bn annually, but it would not
have made a single dent in Babiš’s
agro-products behemoth.
The difficulty isn’t the tax
incentives per se. Rather, it lies
in the fact that the Czech state
mandates that fuel output must
contain a certain biodiesel percentage. And the biofuel to be
added to the petroleum is also
spelled out by law – a rapeseed methyl ester (RME), largely
made in this country by firms
to be scrapped, and this product
consequently ceased to be sold,
then producers would have to
fill the gap in their legally mandated quotas by mixing a greater amount of RME into regular
fuels sold at the pump. Thus,
consumption of RME will not
decline by a single kilogramme.
But fuel prices will go up slightly,
because biodiesel is costlier than
standard fuels. Finance Minister
Babiš can then entirely blame his
predecessor, now opposition foe
Miroslav Kalousek.
Kalousek has also introduced
an amendment, albeit a very
different one. He proposes deleting part of the existing law
problem. Competition would reduce prices, hitting his business
empire’s profitability. But what
will not be changed by any such
amendment is the clear ineffectiveness of mixing biofuels into
regular fuels at all – especially
when the component is RME.
Repeated studies have persuasively demonstrated that rather
than help the environment, such
fuel mixes do significant harm.
Even their production and subsequent combustion produce no
fewer greenhouse gas emissions
than burning fossil fuels. Add to
that mass destruction of natural
habitats, and the end result is
truly catastrophic.
Staying with education...
Online daily Týden has
discovered that Petr Kolář,
Vice-Chancellor at the
The Jan Amos Komensky
University Prague, serves
as an advisor to Minister of
Education Marcel Chládek
(Social Democrat). The
very same institution that
the Czech Accreditation
Commission [AK] has
determined has for some
time been unable to fulfil
its basic functions as a
centre of higher learning.
Unsurprisingly, Kolář’s advice
– wait for it – centres on how
Czech universities should be
properly managed.
The Institute of Czech
Literature [ASCR ICL] has
published a copy on its
Facebook page of an article
written by journalist and
author Jan Drda, originally
published in Literární noviny
in 1958. In the piece, the
communist Drda takes
issue with fellow journalist
Ferdinand Peroutka for
meeting with Ernst Eisenlohr,
the pre-war Nazi ambassador
to Prague. “Eisenlohr was a
gentleman, who meant well,
but was ultimately powerless
[over future events],”
Drda quotes Peroutka as
saying. Super. So finally
the mystery stirred up by
President Zeman and his
spokesperson Jiří Ovčáček
(former editor at communist
daily Haló noviny) over “even
Peroutka getting it wrong” is
solved. Of course, were the
comments of Peroutka – the
man who escaped after the
communist putsch of 1948,
and who went on to run the
Czech section of Radio Free
Europe in the 60s and 70s –
really going to be accurately
reported by Stalinist-era
reporters back home?
joke
ad ve r t is i ng A 1 51 0 0 45 42
T
he Czech media has of late
taken a keen interest in
how Andrej Babiš’s ANO
party approaches the thorny
subject of biofuel subsidies.
Outwardly, the Agrofert boss
appeared to have begun to buckle, with ANO MP Karel Rais
proposing the abolition of the tax
incentive for high-percentage biodiesels. But Babiš’s huge conflict
mandating that only RME is
an acceptable biofuel addition.
Across the globe, other methyl
esters are common, for example
from palm or coconut oils. Kalousek claims rapeseed’s exclusivity was pushed back in 2009
by Radmila Kleslová (current
ANO Deputy Chair), then an assistant to Social Democrat MP
Miloslav Soušek. He introduced
the amendment, helping in the
ensuing five years to earn Babiš
a billion crowns or so.
Should Kalousek’s amendment pass, at least in some
form, Babiš would have a major
Czech social networks are
once again abuzz with talk of
ongoing “maturita” schoolleaving exams. One specific
Czech-language assignment
for this year’s tests, compiled
by private firm Cermat, has
set off a firestorm of debate.
Students were supposed to
identify the correct first name
for the cognomen “Iscariot”.
Some had never heard of
the life of Judas at all, and so
are vehemently protesting. It
appears that some secondary
schools are already giving
in to education ministry
pressure, convinced that an
education-for-all is of no use.

Photo: Jan Rasch
Pavel
Páral
within Babiš’s business nexus.
The mandate is carried out
by mixing biodiesel into regular
motor fuels sold at gas stations
nationwide; these are small
percentages and are taxed in
the standard manner. Another
amount is sold in the form of
so-called high-percentage biodiesels, which are 30-percent
rapeseed oil, or pure biofuel. In
both cases, an exemption exists
for excise taxes. The irony is that
the legal mandate is calculated
according to the overall total of
all fuels sold. If tax incentives
for high-percentage fuels were
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8/9
cover story
Population peril
candidates. Viscofan, for example, has a
hard time finding employees to programme and configure machinery.
The health ministry is another body
with complaints in this area, pointing
to the insufficient number of physicians. According to the ministry, half of
the country’s hospitals, and especially
the smaller ones, are understaffed. In
terms of specialisations, it is the general
practitioners whose numbers are most
depleted, followed by intensive care specialists, surgeons and gynaecologists,
and paediatricians. Their numbers are
topped up by – surprise, surprise – foreign nationals. The field of medical care
highlights another difficulty that dogs the
Czech Republic: even though the total
number of graduates is far from sufficient for this country, things are made
worse by graduates often moving abroad
to easily obtain better pay and working
conditions.
Another way to tackle the workforce
dilemma would be through a retuned
education system. It would not cure the
problem in itself but it could help allocate
graduates to appropriate industries in
order to fill the biggest gaps reported by
businesses. Education Minister Marcel
Chládek has proved a modification, an
early draft of which has already been
approved by the Cabinet. The fundamental principle of his change lies in defining preferred fields of study. “I can see
Approximately 200,000 people a year
will disappear from each category until
2020 and by 2050 there will only be
around 2.6 million economically active
men and a similar number of women.
It is true that there is still a pool of
unemployed people to draw from, but
it is commonly accepted that zero-unemployment is more or less a delusion. The ‘medium-level’ variant on what
is ahead, as calculated by statisticians,
shows that there will be 80 people receiving a pension for every 100 economically
active people in 2050. Today, the ratio is
approximately 42 to 100. The country is
in for rather a rapid descent.
Businesses are already experiencing
a tangible fall in the available workforce.
“We will soon have to start discussing
ways of luring people. Not just into our
company, but into our country as a whole. There will not be enough people in
neighbouring countries either and so
these matters have the potential to create considerable problems for us,” said
Miloslav Kamiš, Director of the Czech
branch of international enterprise Viscofan, a specialist in the production of
sausage casings. Kamiš observed that
the company already receives weekly
batches of CVs from Spain, where Viscofan’s headquarters is located. “Countries
in the south of Europe suffer from up to
50-percent unemployment rates among
college graduates. Our graduates had
better get ready for fiercer competition,
both in terms of finding jobs and keeping
them too,” Kamiš added.
Jan Heřmanský is the director of
Svitap, a manufacturer of technical textiles and foils based in Svitavy, Eastern
Bohemia. “We have 20 job vacancies
registered with the labour office and
we are unable to fill them. And they are
not all specialist jobs. Our only option
seems to be to start looking abroad. After November 1989, we started off with
300 employees. Our workforce has now
grown to 500, but we are still recruiting
foreigners,” Heřmanský said.
No suitable Czechs on the market
Various heads of Czech companies outlined the easiest and quickest solutions
they have turned to in order to get out of
the demographically-induced rut. When
experts from the Research Institute for
Labour and Social Affairs investigated
the employment of foreigners in the
Czech Republic several years ago, they
learned from as many as 75 percent of
employers that their main reason for
recruiting non-Czechs was the lack of
Illustrations: Vojtěch Velický
Continued from page 1
The Czech Republic must begin
to do something about its lack of
an adequate workforce sooner
rather than later. In addition to
setting a reasonable immigration
policy, experts recommend
keeping older people at work for
as long as possible
Czech people suited to their vacancies.
It was the most frequently cited reason
in the categories of both unskilled and
skilled labour, and the second most
frequently stated reason in the case of
administrative positions, pipped to the
post only by the foreigners’ own desire
to fill a given administrative position. It
amounts to the same trend described by
the head of Viscofan’s Czech subsidiary.
“Migrants could potentially be the solution to the demographic crisis, given that
they pay taxes and their demands for
social benefits remain low,” the institute’s
study said.
The growing lack of suitable job candidates has created space for a new type
of business undertaking. Petr Hovorka
specialises in teaching businesses how to
reach and address potential employees.
“The market is recovering and businesses have started to recruit again, but the
situation is completely different to what
it was a decade ago. The numbers of potential employees are dwindling and the
downwards trend of the demographic
curve will only make things worse,” said
Hovorka, a manager at Brand Bakers.
According to him, plain job adverts
and vacancy listings on the labour office
bulletin board cannot suffice for companies looking for employees of quality.
“It might have worked like that a while
ago when there were enough people looking for jobs and the quantities made
it easy enough to pick a few good ones.
But those days have long since gone,”
Hovorka added.
His outlook seems to be more than the
wishful thinking of an eager entrepreneur, as demonstrated by a recent study
conducted by the Czech branch of international consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers. According to the study, some
150 bosses of leading Czech companies
consider the lack of suitable employees
to be the greatest threat they face this
year. It is a fairly strong signal from the
market since such lists of threats were
previously dominated by corruption or
administrative burdens.
Migrants + retaining pensioners
at work
The Czech Republic must begin to do
something about its lack of an adequa-
is bigger for adults than it is for babies.
The average age of Japan’s population
is 45 years-old, and it is forecast that by
2025 it will reach 50. Predictions for the
Czech Republic envisage the country
hitting the 50 years of age average in
2050. Japan is struggling to revive its
ailing economy and the yen devaluation
prescribed by PM Shinzo Abe alongside
economic reforms is only very slowly
gaining momentum. The Japanese public
finances deficit is larger than that of any
other developed industrial economy, exceeding GDP by more than twice. Japan
is set to outlay a record YEN 31.5bn on
social spending, prominent among which
are pensions. The Czech Republic is apparently embarking on a similar journey. But there are alternative proposed
scenarios which, if viewed with ‘2050
vision’, might not be completely off the
mark. Economists Carl Frey and Michael
Osborne have published a paper in which
they estimate that it might be possible to
fill as many as 47 percent of jobs in the
US with robots over the next 20 years.
In their study, the highest likelihood of
such progression within the next two
decades was assigned to 12 specific working positions. These included those of
telemarketing staff, mathematical technicians, insurance brokers, watchmakers
and librarians.
Those who need not worry about their
jobs being handed to robots include the-
Another way to tackle the
workforce dilemma would be
through a retuned education
system. It would not cure the
problem in itself but it could help
allocate graduates to appropriate
industries to fill the biggest gaps
reported by businesses
te workforce sooner rather than later.
In addition to setting a reasonable immigration policy, experts recommend
keeping older people at work for as long
as possible. However, the second part
of that solution is undermined by older
people’s typical unwillingness to travel
to a new job or to retrain for a job in
another industry.
Industry representatives note that jobs
demanding technical skills are particularly plagued by the dearth of skilled job
elementary schools receiving subsidies
according to the number of classes opened and the number of pupils attending
while vocational schools would be subsidised in accordance with the fields of
education offered,” Chládek explained.
Schools have hitherto been subsidised
per capita, regardless of their fields of
study. The minister wants their potential
graduates’ job market value to become
the key criterion. “If there appears a need
for additional fields in individual regions
then the extra curricula would be subsidised by the regions,” Chládek added. His
reform should be introduced in 2016.
Might robots be the answer?
The effects of an ageing population can
be observed in Japan. Statistical reports
have appeared on the Land of the Rising
Sun claiming that the nappy market there
rapists, audiologists, medical staff and
those tending to robot maintenance and
control. Other job positions under threat
include those of waiters, warehouse staff
and fast food staff. Various positions in
which pay rates barely exceed the minimum wage could also be handed over.
Robots can function at a cost of as little as
three dollars an hour, while the minimum
wage in the US is almost USD 10/hour.
The fact that such matters are no
longer considered pure science fiction
was last year demonstrated by low-cost
airline carrier easyJet when it announced
that it would introduce small unmanned
drones for the scanning and pre-flight
checking of its aircraft. The drones, said
the airline, would be much faster and
more accurate in performing their tasks
than the technicians they would replace.
Whose job is next?
10/11
face to face
Ethan B. KapstEin:
Vocal about ‘Glocal’
T
Igor Záruba
“What is this?” asks the small, whimsical American professor during a visit
to the Czech Republic. The students
at the University of Economics, Prague (VŠE) study the can of Coca-Cola
in Kapstein’s hand. “A drink, a label,
a brand, a symbol...” they fire back
in quick succession. “You are right;
all of the above,” explains the former
banker turned renowned economic
relations expert, author, and private
sector consultant. “And do you know
why? Because it’s a phenomenon the
likes of which we rarely see,” adds the
professor. The talk continues for 90
minutes, mostly focused on the soft
drinks firm, for whom Kapstein also
serves as a consultant.
Much of your efforts are focused on
the local impacts of large global chains. How does Coca-Cola perform in
this regard?
There are a wide range of associations in this regard. Consumption
of Coca-Cola soft drinks belongs
somewhere dead-centre inside our
metaphorical impact spheres. Then
we can study the list of derived indicators: sales, tax payments, staff wages,
profitability, operating costs, supplier
margins... In essence, the impacts are
immediate and definitive; the second
category is comprised of additional
factors, such as revenues generated
for employees, companies and nation
states.
In the first instance, on per capita
consumption of cola. Additionally,
profit margin levels, the manner and
costs of distribution; local production
levels, and contracted supplies; also
labour productivity.
and endure. Especially since the retail
sector is not a relatively profitable
arena. It may appear to be so at first
glance, because stores are full, customers are shopping away at full steam,
so you would imagine healthy profits.
But very often that is not the case...
state and can keep the rest of their
earnings for themselves. In the US,
this day was calculated to be in April,
while in the Czech Republic, it comes
midway through June. In Luxembourg, the date is in September. Isn’t
this last example a little too late?
Where is the border between local
and global to be found?
This tends to be a very thin line.
Multinational firms adopt varying
strategies. We see some global brands
who seek to deliberately market themselves as being global in nature, and
only cooperating with other similar
businesses. On the other hand, we
also find many companies focused
on creating local brands. It depends
on adeptness, abilities, and the ability to make use of media marketing
opportunities.
Which brings us full circle – local
firms can mine the most from their
respective market. Meaning utilising
skills, experiences and impulses. But
this may not be enough. Such brands
You also study the abilities of natio- can remain local, without success
nal players when it comes to expan- abroad. It is a mix of tactics and seiding into the global arena. And you zing an opportune moment.
note that the retail sector faces many
You are also particularly interested
issues in this regard. Why is that?
I believe that the biggest problem in taxation. Especially, the concept
there is that the retail sector is orien- of the “Tax Freedom Day” – at which
ted towards a regional focus. It pos- point in the year a citizen has theosesses a strong knowledge of local retically paid all they will pay to the
clients, but it often ends at that. Experiences and knowledge on a global
level are weak.
Ethan B. Kapstein
That isn’t an easy question to answer. What matters is the level of
services gained for such a levy. You
can’t just reduce it to a raw number.
The risk faced by every government
is that excessive taxation can weaken
the job market, and high rates can
reduce overall employment, reducing
the labour-market effect. There are
economies which have fifty percent
overall taxation, and there are even
those with higher levels. But if services are operating effectively, then
people will accept that. If governments govern effectively, then I can
accept that.
Another key factor is the extent to
which the tax system is constructed
fairly. But I understand that there are
opposing views on this, namely from
taxpayers and the state...
How, according to such parameters,
do Coca-Cola’s Czech operations
fare?
In pure numbers, in 2013 Czechs
spent CZK 9.36bn on this firm’s beverages, which translates as roughly 3.1m hectolitres of liquids. This
brought the government CZK 1.22bn
in VAT revenues; represented CZK
4.010bn in turnover revenues, and
CZK 4.13bn in product sales. It delivered at least 0.2 percent to the country’s GDP (CZK 6.941bn), with tax
revenues representing 0.4 percent of
all taxes (CZK 3.071bn), and related
profits for associated firms representing CZK 2.117bn; households, meanwhile, gained CZK 1.753bn through
accrued salaries.
Which retail businesses have managed to break into overseas markets?
In your own words going from local to
“glocal”, meaning global + local?
A few can be found, for example Spanish clothing chain Zara, or
Sweden’s H&M. They managed to
find a niche in the market and fill
it. They built up a list of addresses,
which together created a global mosaic, and they successfully operate
across this.
But I must underscore: even if a
“small” business transforms into a
“large” one, it is difficult to maintain
success across both levels.
What, in your view, is a recipe for
success?
Most important is a knowledge of
Upon what factors does the impact of consumers, because only this can ensure that a retail business can prosper
such a major player depend?
geared towards profits, follows innovations and can quickly evaluate
a particular situation. Governments
need to better understand this and
make sure that incentives operate effectively, so as to help in the creation
of new job opportunities.
How can the private sector be supported while not being given unfair
preferential treatment?
In essence, consensus exists that
the ideal government is one which
is growth-oriented, carries out
trustworthy and transparent policies,
and helps to create a competitive business environment.
And what if a particular brand begins
to compete with itself? You told students here in Prague that a notorious
1985 decision (subsequently reversed) by Coca-Cola to alter its recipe
and create “New Coke” was both the
worst business decision and best
marketing decision it had ever made.
What did you mean by that?
Coca-Cola undertook this move
of its own free will. And it certainly brought the company significant
attention. Whether it was a mistake
is debatable. I don’t think that CocaCola was misguided; that it would
move forward with a decision without
properly thinking it through. But I
do think that this has become an unparalleled example of controversial
corporate decision-making...
You view the private sector as the
chief engine of growth. For what reasons?
The private sector serves as such
an engine because it can best utilise
a system of various incentives. It is
» Teaches international relations at the McCain Institute for International
Leadership in Washington DC; is also a senior economic advisor to the
US Institute of Peace
» Head of Research at the Empirical Studies of Conflict Project, in association with Princeton, Stanford and the University of California
» Presently serves as an external advisor to the Center for Global Development in Washington, D.C., and is an Associate Partner at Steward
Redqueen, a sustainable development consultancy firm
» Previously worked as the head of the political economics department at
the global business university INSEAD, headquartered in Fontainebleau,
France. Has also chaired various posts at institutions including Harvard
and the University of Minnesota. Serves as an advisor to numerous
corporations and institutions, including Coca-Cola, Standard Chartered
Bank, the World Bank and the OECD
» Formerly an international banker and also officer in the United States
Navy
» A regular contributor to such publications as The International Herald
Tribune and the Los Angeles Times. He has authored or edited 10 books
» Is a keen sportsman in his free time (swimming, tennis, jogging); he also
enjoy hiking and reading
Photo: Martin Pinkas
he retail sector is
often too focused
on a small pool
of local clients, says
Ethan B. Kapstein, who
believes that many
firms would benefit
from adopting a more
globally-oriented
mindset
Knowing consumer
needs is the most
important factor,
because only they
can determine
whether a retail
operation succeeds
and prospers
Which verdict do you hold – was it
brilliant or foolhardy?
I would nod in both directions, that
it actually ended up being a kind of
win-win situation [New Coke failed,
but the original Coca-Cola gained
much fresh attention –Ed.] . Perhaps
it would be best to ask the company
directly. I suspect they would say that
the company listened to its customers,
and after three months they returned
to the original recipe.
12/13
feature
Our Friend
Schapiro
I
Jan Novotný
Andrew H. Schapiro jogs his way to
the rostrum and immediately grabs the
microphone. As a rock star from the
word’s number one superpower, the
ambassador prefers to adopt the informal
style so common overseas. But Schapiro
is no politician. He’s a diplomat. And a
newbie, at that. Before his appointment
last July, Schapiro served as a lawyer
for Los Angeles-headquartered litigation-only global law firm Quinn Emanuel
Urquhart & Sullivan. A natural performer, the new US ambassador has taken to
his role with evident delight, often adopting the part of a politician campaigning
to win over voters. Is it a performance?
Or is a real campaign afoot?
Standing on a stage at Prague’s Charles University Faculty of Law, Schapiro
begins the latest round of presentations
to Czech students. The auditorium is
filled to capacity; the audience appears
to be on the ambassador’s side – and
Schapiro knows it. But there is a problem
with the microphone. “Well, see you later
then,” he jokes, as if abandoning his talk
before it has even started. The audience
laughs. Faculty dignitaries nervously
hunt for a replacement microphone.
Schapiro tugs on the cable, and then
the whole device slips from his hands.
Now the ambassador laughs along too:
“Never mind. I’ll just talk unassisted. One
of the reasons I began practising law is
that I’m not very good with technology.”
The room erupts with applause. Schapiro
has only said a few words – none about
US-Czech relations – but has already
enamoured his audience. The campaign
is working. Like Norman Eisen, his predecessor in the post, Schapiro is both a
Jew and a former Chicago school friend
of US president Barack Obama. The ambassador’s mother, Raya Czerner Schapiro, was born in Prague and escaped
Czechoslovakia in 1939, just as the Nazis
invaded the country. During his tenure,
from 2010-14, Eisen (whose mother survived Auschwitz), discovered that “Czechs
like you to have your feet planted firmly
on the ground and for you to be able to
make fun of yourself.” It seems that his
successor has taken that wisdom very
much to heart.
Andrew H. Schapiro
No Castle, but a stay at the Stork’s
Nest
Past US ambassadors to the Czech Republic have also made a point of being
highly visible; but Schapiro has taken that
to a whole new level. Indeed, he’s often
been observed at the kind of events at
which you would hardly expect to find an
ambassador at all. Schapiro was seen quietly doing the rounds at the recent party
congresses of both the Social Democrats
and ANO. Czech politics apparently interests the ambassador far more than his
predecessor. He clearly knows the ropes,
in spite of his lack of political experience.
Back in April, President Miloš Zeman
reacted angrily to Schapiro’s supposedly
undiplomatic criticism of the president’s
planned trip to Moscow to mark the 70th
anniversary of the end of WWII. The doors to the Castle, Zeman said, would now
be closed to the ambassador. But even
here, Schapiro appears to have scored
Photos: ČTK
n just a few months
on the job, the US
Ambassador to the
Czech Republic has
angered the Castle but
at the same time has
apparently found a new
friend in Andrej Babiš
you play a very strong role in pushing for
human rights around the world. That
is extraordinary for such a country.” A
classic US diplomatic mantra, for sure.
Another question: in recent years, does
the US not think that the Czech Republic
has been moving away from its human
rights policies – the legacy of Václav Havel – and its pro-western foreign policy
Schapiro has done something many
a Czech politician can only dream
of – taking on and scoring a (partial)
victory over President Miloš Zeman
a minor victory. After all, Zeman was
ultimately forced into a compromise in
which he would travel to Moscow, but
not attend the controversial huge military
parade on Red Square. Ironically, many a
Czech politician dreams of being in open
conflict with the Czech president.
“You are a first-level ally,” Schapiro
says at his faculty talk before answering
a question pertaining to Czech-US relations. “What do we admire you for? For
the fact that as a medium-sized country,
orientation? “I’ve not observed anything
of the kind,” answers Schapiro. “Not if I
have been following correctly the positions of Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka,
Deputy PM Babiš, and Foreign Minister
(Lubomír) Zaorálek.” A notable exclusion? Schapiro has “diplomatically” made
a point of excluding the head of state
from his list. A questioner asks if Schapiro believes the president is a danger
for Czech-American relations, and if the
US believes Zeman is tilting the country
eastwards. The ambassador treads carefully: “I’ve observed that Czech politics
can often be very passionate.” Clearly,
Schapiro has no wish to add more fuel
to the fire on this particular point. He
will stay quiet at least until the trip to
Moscow is concluded. As to whether he
will ever see the inside of Prague Castle
again, he has no idea.
“Our relations have been significantly
disrupted,” explains former Czech Ambassador to the US Petr Kolář (2005-10).
In his critique of Schapiro’s characterisation of the president’s “precarious”
Moscow trip, Zeman cited the Vienna
Convention on Diplomatic Relations,
which prohibits ambassadors from meddling in the internal affairs of host states.
Has Schapiro really been assuming the
improper role of activist? “Schapiro’s public engagements in the Czech Republic
reflect his personality, and also increased
diplomatic efforts by the US in the country,” argues Kolář. “But I certainly would
not characterise it as meddling in our internal affairs. This is not a hostile country.
We are talking about an ambassador from
an allied country. We have many mutual
interests and ties. If we take Schapiro to
be a partner and friend, then I don’t see
why he cannot express an opinion over
such matters.”
Schapiro has also not shied away
from fostering close ties with top representatives of the Czech political scene.
During celebrations to mark his recent
52nd birthday, held at the Ambassador’s
residence in Bubeneč, Prague, Schapiro
welcomed a number of Czech political
figures including Jakub Kulhánek, a
Social Democrat deputy at the foreign
ministry, and also Finance Minister
and ANO leader Babiš. And it is with
the latter that Schapiro has managed to
build up a strategic friendship in recent
weeks. Schapiro evidently quickly sniffed out the politician currently playing
with the strongest deck. By so doing, the
ambassador showed himself to operate
along strongly pragmatic lines. Indeed,
not long ago, he even accepted an invite
for his family to spend a weekend at the
“Stork’s Nest”, Babiš’s farm in Olbramovice, Central Bohemia.
Key people
Also of note is the way that the US ambassador addresses Babiš. While the
Czech media tend to call him “Minister
of Finance”, Schapiro prefers his other,
clearly more commanding title, namely
“Deputy Prime Minister”. Equally significant is that at the aforementioned
law faculty talk, Schapiro named Babiš
as being among the three key Czech
foreign policy figures. With that, he
elevated Babiš to a major player in the
diplomatic arena, which was certainly
news to many. In truth, Babiš has so far
avoided any detailed commentary on
world affairs. It is a sensitive field, and
the ANO leader has yet to demonstrate
a profound grasp of its intricacies. But,
similarly to the “Deputy Prime Minister’s” positions on countless other issues,
a slow transformation is evident. While
just a few months ago, the ANO leader
was critical of sanctions against Russia,
essentially leaving Ukraine to its own
fate, today the language is far more heedful of the wider Czech foreign policy
orientation. This has led, for example, to
Babiš echoing Schapiro and criticising
long-term political ally Zeman for his
Moscow trip. The effect could also be
observed during Babiš’s recent working
trip to the US, during which he met
with the likes of former mayor of New
York Michael Bloomberg and former
secretary of state Madeleine Albright
as well as with several congressmen.
Ambassador Schapiro played a notable
role in organising this trip. Babiš and he
have clearly established a strong bond,
no doubt helped by the ANO leader’s
fluent grasp of English. The end result
Born in Chicago, Illinois in 1963. Mother Raya Czerner Schapirová escaped
Czechoslovakia as a child as the Nazis seized Czechoslovakia. Studied history at Yale, before gaining a Master’s at Oxford University in Philosophy,
Politics, and Economics. Subsequently gained a law degree at Harvard
Law School, where he edited the Harvard Law Review magazine under its
president, and future US president, Barack Obama. Following his studies,
Schapiro served as a clerk at the US Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit in
Chicago and later at the US Supreme Court. In 1993, he joined the Federal
Defenders Office for the Southern District of New York, offering the city’s
citizens free legal advice. Joined the private sector in 1998, first at Mayer
Brown and later at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. Clients Schapiro
has represented include YouTube and Philip Morris. Schapiro and his wife
Tamar Newberger served as “bundlers” in 2008 raising more than USD
1.2m for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Schapiro was nominated
for the post of US Ambassador to the Czech Republic in March 2014; he
presented his credentials the following September.
of such mutual wooing is that Schapiro
has helped shift Babiš’s foreign policy
orientation in a more Westerly direction. Babiš was also assisted in this policy
transformation by advisor Alexander
Braun (VP of US-based market research
firm Penn Schoen Berland), Anna Matušková (of Czech political marketing firm
IPM) and also ANO MEP and “shadow
foreign minister” Pavel Telička.
“It represents a certain evolution,”
said a top source at ANO responsible for
the party’s public image. “We believe this
will fit into the overall conception of how
we present ANO.” Thus, in a mere eight
months, Schapiro has managed to have
a major impact on the Czech domestic
scene, likely contributing towards the
fact that both Babiš, and even Zeman,
have significantly curtailed inclinations
to tilting the Czech Republic in a proRussian direction. Not to put too fine
a point on it, but Schapiro is certainly
helping to influence Czech foreign policy, expanding the role of US diplomacy
into hitherto uncharted waters.
In comments made during an
address to law students at Charles
University, Schapiro named
Minister of Finance Andrej Babiš
as being among the top three
most influential people in Czech
foreign policy. The ANO leader’s
newfound foreign policy chops
came as news to many
14/15
wine & dine
society
society
AlmAre
Conference explores how to crack
the German market
Neptune’s bounty at Těšnov
Photo: Best Communications
A quality fish
and seafood
restaurant has
opened at a
dingy Prague
intersection
“How to succeed on the German market” was one of the main topics at the
Future of Czech Exports conference organised by the Mladá fronta publishing
house, which took place at the Courtyard Marriott hotel in Pilsen. Practical
advice on trading with German firms was offered to Czech entrepreneurs
by the head of the CzechTrade office in Düsseldorf Adam Jareš (on the
right of the picture). He reminded conference attendees that from this
year in Germany the minimum wage has been set at EUR 8.50/hour and
that from next year toll charges on German motorways will be introduced.
Commercial Director of the firm Boco Pardubice Machines, Dalibor Ježek
(left), recommended the use of a locally-placed business representative
in Germany, who, in brokering the sale of Czech goods in the country,
can secure savings in both costs and time. Another Mladá fronta export
conference has been arranged for the end of May in Ostrava
Four Seasons orchestral evening raises CZK 0.5m
for cancer patients
Petr Holec
A
a dve r t i s i ng
A151002209
Get your subscription!
Photos: Hynek Glos
lmare is a quietly impressive dining space. The elegant, airy
interior, long fish tanks and
model of a fishing schooner
convey a maritime ambience
that is also recognisably Italian. It is certainly one of the
more expensive restaurants
in this part of town – even the
beef steak will set you back
530 crowns, while the pasta
dishes average around 200
crowns.
I started with the tuna tartare with tomatoes, ginger and
crispy shallots (178 crowns).
I have not sampled a tastier
version of this popular dish
in a long while. The pieces of
fish were just as they should
be, neither limp and oily, nor
overly firm. The dish was also
perfectly accompanied by a
dry mineral-laced white wine.
The wines by the glass are
above average here, inclu- Pan-fried John Dory. With seasonal vegetables
ding rosés, reds and a very
decent Amarone.
The seafood selection features some interesting variations on the usual themes,
such as grilled octopus with
artichokes, tomatoes and
basil (318 crowns), baked
scallops with a cocoa crust
and cauliflower (358 crowns)
and poached shrimps with
lettuce, marinated zucchini
and parmesan (295 crowns).
There is also a daily menu
Photo: Anna Vacková
Four Seasons Hotel Prague, with the support of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra,
hosted its second charity evening for the Pink Bubble Foundation in its restaurant
CottoCrudo. With contributions from additional partners, including the Four Seasons
hotels in Florence and Paris, brands Brioni, LBM Luxury Brand Management,
Laurent-Perrier, Sephora and Dermalogica, it succeeded during the course of the
occasion in collecting a sum of CZK 503,000. The money will be put towards helping
young cancer patients. In the picture are partners present at the evening and
members of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
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Pleasing interior
Varied menu
Good offer of wines
by the glass
Octopus not
up to scratch
ces of melon alongside this
excellent prosciutto even in
April. You also get a serving
of fresh bread and olive oil
to go with your meal, an extra which no self-respecting
Italian ristorante should nowadays be without.
Monday, 18 May 2015
CZK 24/¤ 1 l www.e15.cz
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The Verdict
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New US Ambassador riles
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Andrej Babiš
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Feature pages 12–13
Population peril
vouchers with a value of CZK 1,500
settled for one child or no
With so many Czechs having
lacking
the country is not far from
children at all, studies show
people
economically productive
hundreds of thousands of
One piece of the jigsaw
The
puzzle is known already.
Czech Republic is growing
t starts almost imperoldolder and the numbers of
ceptibly, creeping in
will
age pensioners (OAPs)
with barely detectable
keep on swelling. But there
symptoms, just like a sepiece that is not dianother
is
any
with
as
rious illness. And,
scussed nearly often enough.
epidemic, no-one really heeds Population predictions for the
The
the warnings preceding it.
compiled
ine- period up to 2050
that
numbers eventually seem
show
s
is by statistician
approxorable: the Czech Republic
the there are currently
ecorunning out of people and
a ximately 3.6 million
country is slipping towards
men and
Data nomically active
demographic precipice.
to about the same number
from studies available
numThese
women.
of
that
Euro magazine suggest
an
the bers have been on
the number of people in
upward trend until
economically active category, recently. Things reyears
i.e. between 15 and 64
versed around the
of age, will drop by as many year 2010.
And
as two million by 2020.
Continues on
the
there is nobody to reverse
page 8
decline.
Petr Weikert
I
can be used for e-shop
www.luxuryoffice.cz
Illustration: Shutterstock
Creamy
soup of
mussels.
With saffron
of fresh sea fish, subject to
availability, which runs to sea
bream, sea bass, turbot and
John Dory.
The only real disappointment of the evening was the
octopus, which could hardly
bear comparison with the
tuna tartare.
While the latter’s preparation was textbook, this was a
botch-job, with the thicker
parts of the octopus too glutinous and springy and the
tentacles simply dry and
overdone, in other words
the worst of both worlds on
a plate. Whether this was the
chef’s intention or simply an
accident in the kitchen was
hard to fathom.
If you fancy something
more terrestrial, then the
San Daniele ham with melon (165 crowns) should not
be overlooked as a starter.
The restaurant managed to
serve up perfectly ripe pie-
until 29 September 2015
You can also subscribe
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Photo: Reuters
diversions
picture of the week
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no, it’s...
Aviation enthusiast Yves Rossy, known as Jetman, along with protege Vince Reffet, even managed to pull off a few Superman poses as they reportedly became the
first people in the world to fly a jet-fitted wing. The daring duo flew over Dubai’s Palm Island at speeds of up to 120 mph, performing acrobatics and recording some
breathtaking views. Rossy, a former Swiss Air Force pilot, is the inventor of an individual jet pack and wing-suit system with carbon-fibre wings
invitations
photography
sport and art
philanthropy
theatre
Kaufman’s The Burden
of Lightness
A Journey from War
at the YMCA
A Prague run
for lovers of sculpture
Assistance procession
for disabled people
Romulus the Great
premiere at the ABC
Litoměřice’s Gallery of Fine
Arts hosts this exhibition from
Mirek Kaufman comprised of a
cycle of paintings inspired by
the human shape and a fascination with its transformations. The paintings, which can
be seen as in stark contrast
to the contemporary cults of
beauty and perfection, can be
viewed until 14 June.
This photography exhibition,
looking at the 1919 return of
Czechoslovak Legion soldiers
to their homeland from the
Russian Civil War battlefield
can be seen at Prague’s Palác
YMCA at 12 Na Poříčí. YMCA is
celebrating the 25th anniversary of the revival of its activities in the Czech Republic.
Around 50 photographs are
on display until 15 June. Free
entry.
How about participating in a
run that takes you past the
most interesting sculptures
in public spaces found in
historic Prague? During the
five-kilometre course you will
encounter a dozen sculptures
and sculpture installations
created by some of the foremost artists. Assemble prior to
5pm at the DSC gallery located
at 5 Dlouhá.
A Prague procession named
We are Walking with Assistance will move from Stromovka
to Vyšehrad, taking in some
of the most beautiful parts
of Prague. The sponsors of
the event are actors Simona
Babčáková (pictured) and Jan
Potměšil. The start-point is
at the Holešovice Exhibition
Grounds, on Saturday 23 May.
The participation fee of 200
crowns will go to charity.
Prague theatre ABC is full of
hens. In Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s play Emperor Romulus
Augustus knows the ruin of
the Western Roman Empire
may be ahead at the hands of
a Germanic invasion – but he
calmly stays at home breeding
domesticated chickens. It can
be seen this coming Saturday
23 May.
Photos: archive
paintings