Final Word from Tuesday, July 16, 2002
Marie Součková, until recently a little-known vice chairwoman of ČSSD, has been thrown into the limelight since her party won the elections. Although she lacked sufficient media training and political experience on the national level, she's become Vladimír Špidla's unofficial spokeswoman and has handled the job fairly well. But she's also the designated health minister, and this raises concerns. Unlike some other designated ministers who have a good idea of what they want to accomplish, she's very vague. She often simply refers to the coalition agreement, which itself lacks details. Health care accounts for about 18% of state spending and needs reforming. Součková told Respekt that reform is a long-term issue and one that's very sensitive. Asking patients to take more responsibility for their health clearly won't be one of her priorities.