Czech envoy predicts huge ‘Yes’ vote despite bickering

Date: 12/06/03

By David Cronin

PAVEL Telicka, the Czech envoy to the EU, has placed a bet on the outcome of his country's accession referendum (13-14 June). He predicts that at least 74 of those going to the polls will vote 'Yes'.

Yet while the referendum is widely expected to be carried, the campaign leading to it has been marred by bickering between top political figures.

President Vaclav Klaus, an EU-critic who had nonetheless called for a 'Yes' vote, launched a scathing broadside against the government's promotional efforts. Klaus dismissed as "silly propaganda" a series of adverts giving an idyllic view of European integration - these portrayed Czech pensioners taking their holidays in southern European resorts.

But his predecessor Vaclav Havel made an emotional plea to his compatriots to back the EU. During a concert in Prague's majestic Wenceslas Square, the 'Velvet Revolution' leader recalled how fears of rising fraud and organized crime he voiced in 1990 had become reality. "To say 'Yes' to the EU means to say 'No' to this fraudulence," he commented.

Meanwhile, there was a huge sense of relief across European capitals this week as it was confirmed that 77 of Polish voters had said 'Yes' to the Union.

Romano Prodi, the European Commission president, described the verdict as a "turning point in European history".

"A great and proud nation is turning the page of a tragic century and freely takes the seat that should have belonged to it right from the start of European integration," he added.

Pavel Telicka, the Czech envoy to the EU, believes that at least 74% of those who turn out to vote in the country's referendum on joining the EU will support accession.