Final Word from Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Miroslav "Capone" Kalousek isn't exactly the CR's most popular politician. STEM found that his rating has fallen steadily this year from 38% to 30%. He nevertheless killed MP Vlastimil Tlustý of ODS (who isn't ranked by STEM) in an informal poll on TV Nova's "7" show. The final score was 58-42 in Kalousek's favor. LN said Tlustý did a bad job in the debate, but Tlustý was behind practically before he could even open his mouth. ODS rarely loses such informal polls, and it's widely assumed in professional circles that it bombards the phones to make sure it doesn't. Which suggests that some ODS people voted against Tlustý. He reportedly wants to unseat Mirek Topolánek as ODS chair and, unlike Kalousek, is fighting more for himself than his party in the run-up to elections. That's a surefire way to make enemies and cripple a promising political career. Al Capone