Czech MEP kept mum about pregnancy

Newly elected Civic Democratic (ODS ) Party MEP, Andrea Češková, is being roundly criticized in the Czech press for hiding the fact that she was several months pregnant in the run-up to European elections. Lidové Noviny leads with the headline "With Andrea (pregnant) in Europe,“ an ironic reference to the campaign slogan that helped Češková win her seat. ODS party members have expressed a variety of reactions to the news. Many of them, who were unaware of the pregnancy, are nonetheless convinced "that she will prove to be an excellent mother and MEP." Party Vice-President David Vodrážka believes the news should be perceived in a positive light, because greater frankness with the electorate might have constituted an "abuse of pregnancy for political ends." Not so the Prague daily, which concludes: "It is not a crime to be pregnant, but it is difficult to see how her [Češková's] mandate will amount to anything more than lucrative maternity leave.”