Free Republic

As parliamentary polls get under way in the Czech Republic this week, artist David Cerny has floated a huge purple statue of an extended middle finger down the River Vltava in Prague. The outsized purple hand has been mounted on a barge floating on the river. It is pointed at Prague Castle, the seat of President Milos Zeman. Mr Cerny has shocked and mocked politicians and public figures in the past, says the BBC's Rob Cameron. This latest piece is clearly his message to the leftist President Zeman and the political party recently set up by his supporters, our correspondent...

A hoax artwork which was supposed to celebrate European diversity provoked a full-scale diplomatic incident between Bulgaria and the Czech Republic today. The sculpture, commissioned by the Czech government to mark their EU presidency, mocked Europe’s national stereotypes, but some governments have failed to get the joke. Bulgaria has taken exception to its caricature, which depicts the country as a Turkish squat toilet. The country's ambassador wrote formal letters of complaint to the Czech EU presidency and Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy chief, today. Related Links Officials have demanded that the sculpture be taken down before the exhibit’s public...