It’s a cautionary tale of how one change can result in a landslide of amendments and, according to many, almost totally gut a flagship piece of anti-corruption legislation. But that’s what happened in the Czech lower house of parliament as an existing law aimed at forcing public companies, regions, state agencies and ministries to reveal details of all their contracts was watered down to a shadow of its former self, Radio Praha writes.

Misgivings about the proposed law creating the registry of contracts had already been voiced for months by Minister of Agriculture Marian Jurečka over the prospect that the last remaining brewery in state hands, Budějovický Budvar, would have to show its hand about its deals while rivals in the private sector would not. Jurečka introduced an amendment excluding the state-owned brewery from the scope of the proposed law and other lawmakers followed suit.

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