A guide to Prague paranoia

To the casual visitor Prague seems a very civilized place. The city is bristling with church spires, historic buildings, museums and elegant squares. Every night is a cultural feast with opera, classical music and theatre of the highest quality. In this rarefied atmosphere, artistic and intellectual endeavours thrive and it is difficult to believe that the country was once under the dead-hand of communism.

But scratch the surface and a completely different picture emerges – a society lousy with jealousies, paranoia, xenophobia, nepotism, Machiavellian politics and dodgy deals.