Czech Greens set sights on 10 percent in June election

The Czech Green Party hopes to win up to 10 percent of votes in June's election on an agenda mixing environmental issues with a push for lower payroll taxes and anti-corruption measures, party chief Martin Bursik said.
Bursik told Reuters in an interview the Greens hoped to lure both environmentally conscious and liberal voters disillusioned with the ruling Social Democrats and sceptical of the centre-right opposition who lead opinion polls.
"I would consider it a big success if we reach a double-digit result," he said. "Ten percent would be excellent."
The Greens have never made it to parliament but two recent polls showed they would just cross the 5 percent threshold in June 2-3 elections and could hold the balance of power in parliament.
Unlike some of their left leaning West-European peers, Czech Greens support liberal economic policies as long as they are environmentally conscious.
Bursik, a 46-year old who briefly served as environment minister in a caretaker cabinet in 1998, said the Greens' could work with any party in parliament, bar the Communists.
"We will not be in government with the Communists and we will not support a minority cabinet which would lean on Communist votes," he said.
A minority cabinet backed by the Communists is one of the options which may be open to the ruling Social Democrats after the election.
Bursik said his party was in favour of lower taxes which should be funded by cutting red tape and rooting out corruption, which he said was rampant in public construction projects.
"Corruption is the trademark of the Czech Republic," he said.
Opinion polls show Czechs consider bribery to be among the main election issues. Reports of graft fill domestic media, and a row over the purchase of an expensive apartment brought down Social Democrat Prime Minister Stanislav Gross last year.
Bursik said the Greens would not enter any government which supported the construction of a new nuclear energy plant mulled by state-controlled power firm CEZ.
"New nuclear facilities is a topic that is out of the question," he said.
His party wants to impose excise taxes on energy, varying the rate according to how environmentally friendly it is. The extra money collected would allow to cushion cuts in social and health charges the Greens believe would spur economic growth.
He said he had no strong view on adopting the euro currency, and the question would best be left with the central bank.