RUSSIA / GERMANY : Nein! Germany Withdraws Quadriga Prize For Putin.

                                                      NYTIMES
   After much criticism for selecting Russia's PM Vladimir Putin, Germany's prestigious Quadriga prize...instead will not be awarded this year.
   The annual prize is given to "role models who are committed to enlightenment, commitment and welfare".
   Former Czech President Vaclav Havel threatened to return his award to protest the Putin announcement.

The Euroskeptic Prime Minister Who Loves Blonde Stewardesses.

TIMES ONLINE/ Longish profile/
The Czech Republic's Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus is a 68-year-old married euroskeptic who holds the future of the EU in his hands but last year he was caught in the company of a pretty flight attendant. She was his third.
But most Czechs seemed to approve. “A mistress is generally considered a sign of a real man,” pronounced Dnes (Today), the nation’s biggest newspaper. “Czechs have just shrugged their liberal shoulders,” said Lidove Noviny, the populist daily.
Klaus is lapping up attention as statesmen plead for his signature on the Lisbon Treaty. “His narcissistic personality loves being at the centre of attention and power,” a Czech politician told The Times last week, “and Czechs have a tendency to admire him because of their own lack of self-confidence.”

Former Czech President Vaclav Havel Reflects On 1989, Russia And Obama.

NYTIMES/
One day after his 73rd birthday, former president Vaclav Havel, who steered the Czechs and Slovaks out of communism, talked about the present “era of disgust” in Czech politics. He believes many current Czech politicians are prone to conspiratorial thinking and acts of petty deceit compounded by “some kind of existential crisis” caused by a global pursuit of materialism and by the specific Czech legacy of 40 years of Communist government.

Eastern Europe Worries About Russia and Obama.

From The NYTimes.