Czech PM Shows Green Credentials on Campaign Trail
Date: 19-Apr-06
Country: CZECH
Author: Jan Korselt
Paroubek toured a northern region on Tuesday on the Social Democrat party's double-decker campaign bus and attacked the Green Party agenda, saying it would slow economic growth.
The Greens plan high taxes on unclean power, a ban on coal heating and a bust-up of power firm CEZ.
Paroubek needs to raise his party's environmental credentials as his party trails the centre-right opposition in opinion polls and is losing support to the Green Party in the run-up to the June 2-3 election.
"I think there are no peculiarities in our environmental programme like there are in the Green Party programme," he told reporters on the tour that included a wind power station, an ecological farm and a re-activated mine.
"Our agenda is a programme which allows for further economic development of our country at the pace of some 5-6 percent," he said in a region vital for coal mining and power generation.
Paroubek unveiled the party's "Ecological Manifesto" during the tour, promising to invest in energy savings and renewable resources for heating.
VOTING BLOCS
He said the country could avoid building new nuclear power reactors and instead use Russian natural gas for power if there is an agreement on the price of supply.
The Greens are attracting undecided voters and Paroubek aimed to reach out to them and other potential voting blocs, said political scientist Rudolf Kucera.
"We are seeing Premier Paroubek reacting immediately to everything. One minute he declares allegiance to God and lures religious voters. Next he tries for those interested in ecology," he said.
Paroubek has attacked the Greens -- who are not currently in parliament -- but has not ruled out a coalition with them.
Opinion polls show the Greens may prove a kingmaker after the election. They have not ruled out cooperating with any party except the Communists and their agenda mixes left and right wing policies.
A coalition of centre-right Civic Democrats, the centrist Christian Democrats and the Greens would have 111 votes in the 200-seat lower parliament, a survey released on Tuesday showed.
A combination of the Social Democrats, the Christian Democrats and the Greens would win 98 votes.
Green Party head Matin Bursik said on Monday his party's policies were closer to the Social Democrats than the Civic Democrats.
