Final Word from Monday, March 24, 2003
Vladimír Špidla told MFD on Sat. that the government will use all the legal means at its disposal to get others to pay some of the $353m cost of the arbitration case with CME. There is speculation that this could mean revoking TV Nova's license, reducing the advertising time at Nova in favor of Czech Television, or imposing a licensing fee on private stations. Any attempt in this direction would provoke a fierce battle in Parliament. Ekonom magazine said there's a rumor that Nova has started looking to replace Vladimír Železný as a way to defuse the explosive situation. Špidla could be stoking the fire as part of his campaign against the Miloš Václav Klaus-Zeman-Železný opposition agreement (which now includes KSČM Communist Chair Miroslav Grebeníček and Miroslav Kalousek of KDU-ČSL). If the Nova issue goes to Parliament, the vote will tell a lot about who stands where in Czech politics.