Final Word from Thursday, May 9, 2002
Teleaxis sports-marketing agency is hosting a Czech-American investment and business conference in Prague on June 4-5, a week before the elections. Václav Klaus, a friend of Teleaxis CEO Peter Kovarčík, will get second billing behind keynote speaker Bill Clinton and will likely use the platform to repeat his criticism of investment incentives. CzechInvest, which normally gets involved in business promotion, has nothing to do with the Kč 49,000 per-person event, nor does the U.S. embassy or the American Chamber of Commerce. If the purpose were truly to "identify the problems and untapped potential" in Czech-American business relations, their participation would seem essential. But for an event that has more to do with the business of politics than it does with attracting foreign investment, Klaus' presence is all that's required.