Lidové Noviny, 11 January 2010

The Senate has run out of worthwhile topics for debate. This is the reason cited by the Czech Republic's 81 senators, who have decided not to return to work after the holiday season. On its front page, Lidové Noviny reports that “the upper house has not been disbanded, legislators have simply decided to postpone any discussions until March." The Czech daily deplores the fact that the senate may be idle but senators will continue to be “very well paid." According to an estimate in the report, “the extended spring break" will add one million euros to the country's budget deficit, which already stands at 7.3 billion euros.

“We have nothing on the agenda, because in recent months, we have had nothing but pointless debates in the lower house of parliament," explains senate chairman Přemysl Sobotka. After 13 years in operation, the upper house of the Czech parliament is widely perceived as "powerless and unnecessary" complains Lidové Noviny.