Final Word from Monday, August 5, 2019

MP Marek Benda of ODS briefly took on the role last week of U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi by telling Czech TV that he's not sure the constitutional violations committed by Pres. Miloš Zeman are serious enough to warrant impeachment. The political implications of such a statement coming from the opposition head of the constitutional committee of the lower house of the Czech Parliament are huge. Unlike in the Senate, where voters aren't so quick to link their representative to a given political party, MPs are their party. If the constitutional complaint against Zeman comes to be seen as frivolous, MPs who vote for it could suffer at the polls. The parties filing the impeachment complaint in the Senate might now come out better in the lower house if the parliamentary body refuses to hear the motion and instead lets it die after three months. Ironically, Benda gave ANO and other parties opposing the motion a big reason to support a loud impeachment debate. [ Czech Republic Television Democrats removal ]