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Bobosikova withdraws Czech presidential candidacy ... most influential Czech political party with the highest number of members of all Czech parties, will discuss their ideological and programme documents that is designed to persuade voters to cast their votes for them. The delegates to the congress that will take place on May 17-18 will adopt the Declaration of Socialism and an appeal to entrepreneurs and to members and supporters of the senior opposition Social Democrats (CSSD).
They will also adopt a position on the missile defence radar base the USA intends to station in the Brdy military district, some 90 km southwest of Prague. The far right National Party (NS) is preparing a "calm protest against red monsters" during the KSCM congress. Some 20 members of the nationalist NS already protested against communism on May Day before Prague's Exhibition Grounds where the KSCM held a rally to mark the holiday. There are four official candidates for KSCM chairman. Its current head Fojtech Filip, 53, will run for re-election and is considered the favourite of the elections. Deputies Stanislav Grospic, 43, and Sona Markova, 45, as well as MEP Miloslav Ransdorf, 55, will contest the post with Filip. Former KSCM long-serving chairman Miroslav Grevenicek, 61, was nominated for the post by the KSCM local organisation in Litomerice, north Bohemia, but he decided not to run and told CTK that he would not take part in the congress. It is generally believed that Filip will be re-elected to the leading party post since he is a politicians who has gain the support of various opinion streams in the party. The Communists consider him the leader who is able to unite the party and ensure political security to party members. At the previous party congress in Ceske Budejovice, south Bohemia, Randsdorf unsuccessfully tried to convince the delegates of the necessity to modernise the party and curb bureaucracy. He intends to bring the KSCM closer to the CSSD which would allow the two left-wing parties to form a joint government. However, the KSCM that inherited a large part of its members from the pre-1989 Czechoslovak Communist Party (KSC) then rejected his vision and elected Grebenicek as chairman. Now Ransdorf again intends to persuade the Communists that they should abandon the party structure from the time when the Communists were the ruling party in the country according to the Constitution and create a more dynamic leadership. Ransdorf said he firmly believed that only in such a way the KSCM would be able to solve the new tasks Czech society faces. In their ideological and programme documents, the KSCM declares its adherence to its strategic goals - socialism and communism that they believe are the systems that will replace the current capitalist systems. In the Declaration of Socialism they say that it is high time for the society of global capitalism that ensures the prosperity of the minority to the detriment of the rest to leave the scene before its decadent elements incur irreparable damage. The Communists keep the contents of their prepared appeal to entrepreneurs and members and supporters of the CSSD secret and will reveal it only at the congress. In their other documents they say that they support the equality of the forms of production means ownership. The chairman who will be elected by the Communists on Saturday, May 17, will be able to test his leadership qualities during the autumn elections to the regional assemblies and the Senate. The elections to the European Parliament next year will be another test. It will be difficult for the Communists to defend its current six mandates. However, the elections to the Chamber of Deputies in June 2010 will be of key importance for the new party leader since KSCM members will expect the party to regain the 15 seats in the lower house that the party lost in 2006.
(Ceske Noviny)
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