They wear patterned shirts after dark. They love pairing sandals with a suit. Their necktie knots are a mess. Worst of all, they fail to show respect for other people.

The offenders in question are Czech politicians. Their crime: They lack social etiquette.

When it comes to good manners, the world's in a downward spiral. Czechs especially should try a little harder, according to the authors of a recently published book titled Etiquette: A Pocket Encyclopedia of Good Manners (Etiketa: Příruční encyklopedie slušného chování).

Ladislav Špaček, former spokesman for ex-president Václav Havel and co-author of the book, doesn't want to name names — after all, that would be impolite. But, he concedes, former Prime Minister Stanislav Gross was one of the most socially clueless. "Once he even turned up in shorts!" Špaček recalls in mock horror about a grenade explosion in Prague's center, to which Gross arrived in very casual attire.

Former Prime Minister Vladimír Špidla and current Prime Minister Jiří Paroubek have come a long way in their sense of dress, says Špaček.

Ivo Mathé, the book's other author, estimates that about 99 percent of members of Parliament have poor social manners. A few rare exceptions, say Mathé and Špaček, are opposition leader Mirek Topolánek, President Václav Klaus and Havel.

Mathé, who is president of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (AMU), used to head Havel's office and says it was his time there that helped inspire the book.

"During our time at the castle, we've seen some pretty awful things," says Mathé. "Politicians couldn't control their alcohol intake. People dozed off during meetings."

But are good manners really all that important?

"Sure," says Špaček. "Rules of etiquette aren't everything, but they make life easier."

According to Špaček, 40 years of communism are partly to blame for Czechs' lack of social grace.

"It was a big setback," adds Mathé. "Under communism, people would just wear sweatpants and overalls."

But Václav Soldát, an instructor of etiquette courses who works for agency AHA, says the communist regime is not to blame for everything.

Soldát has been giving etiquette courses for more than 40 years. He says manners have become more relaxed and etiquette codes less rigid during the past decades. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, he notes.

What's more, greater numbers of Czechs than ever before are signing up for etiquette courses, according to Soldát. Still, most of those willing to pay for a course — the cost is steep at roughly 3,000 Kč ($120) per person for a five-hour lecture — tend to be business people and big firms.

"Proper etiquette is for many firms now part of their business strategy," says Irena Staňková, who teaches management courses as a consultant at the firm Krauthammer. Recently, in response to market demand, Staňková began including etiquette courses in her program for managers.

"Managers need to know where to sit during business lunches, with whom to shake hands and so on," she says.

Věra Vrchotová, human resources manager for Motor Jirkov, a large metal works company, agrees. That's why her firm recently began offering etiquette courses — organized by Špaček himself — to its employees.

"It's important," says Vrchotová. "People are traveling abroad more and they need to know how to avoid social mishaps."

The downside of this trend in companies is the growing gap between the manners of business managers and those of regular people on the street, notes Soldát.

Recently Krauthammer offered an open course of etiquette for the general public. The class was cancelled due to a lack of interest.