Prague: Mayor gives fish soup for Christmas

Českě Noviny reports that today in Prague during the massive pre-Christmas festivities the mayor of Prague Bohuslav Svoboda tried his hand at a new role - on the Old Town Square he served out standing in long line citizens and curious tourists who joined them a hot soup, which is a traditional Christmas dish in the Czech Republic.

Similar events are held in the capital before Christmas each year. This year chefs have prepared according to the old Bohemian recipe 2.000 portions of fish soup, which, along with fried carp and potato salad is considered to be a mandatory dinner dish on Christmas Eve. The newly elected mayor who took his office on November 30, 2010 told journalists: "The queue has pleased me. It shows the national interest". To fasten the process and so that the people did not have long to wait he was assisted by his deputy Karel Brezina.

Tomio Okamura, the chairman of the Association of Czech travel agencies, reported that he fully endorses such events like this festive soup distribution in the center of Prague, as they create a festive atmosphere and attract tourists who are looking for new culinary experiences. Mr. Okamura said: “The more such activities are held, the more interesting Prague becomes”.

Some Prague residents, who saw their mayor helped by his deputy to pour celebratory soup, commented that this is a good example of a broad coalition in action. The fact is that Bohuslav Svoboda belongs to the Civic Democratic Party (Občanská demokratická strana or ODS), and Karel Brezina is the representative of the Czech Social Democratic Party (Česká strana sociálně demokratická or ČSSD). In the October elections these parties won the second and third places respectively, and then agreed to form a broad coalition in the City Council of Prague. Thus, they received 34 mandates of the 63 possible. The winning party TOP 09 left without representation in City Hall.

This situation angered many residents of Prague who hoped for changes in the City Council, which has been repeatedly mentioned in connection with corruption scandals. Representatives of small Czech parties have filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic on the illegality division of Prague into seven parts in the elections. In their view such practices harm the interests of smaller parties and creates a distinct advantage for political giants such as ODS and CSSD.