Final Word from Thursday, September 18, 2003
TV Nova reported last night that a few Communist MPs are prepared to walk out of the chamber to allow Premier Vladimír Špidla's public-finance reforms to pass. It would be ironic if the Communists were the saviors. Labor leader Milan Štěch warned in LN on Sat. that if the cabinet doesn't meet the unions' demands, ČSSD will suffer in the next elections. Implicit in this seemed to be a threat that the unions would turn against ČSSD and support the Communists. Now, though, the Communists are coming to Špidla's defense. Špidla and Štěch share the same party but also have something else in common: Their actions are helping the Communists to gain increased acceptability and could cause more unhappy ČSSD voters to switch allegiances. TV Nova's increased readiness to give air time to the Communists is playing no small role in the red revival. ČMKOS