Final Word from Wednesday, February 23, 2005
ODS hopes to win the 42-43% that would give it a majority in the next Parliament, thanks to the way the electoral system works. If not, it might have to turn to KDU, which isn't the most desirable partner. Another possibility, according to Petr Nečas in Právo, is that a small center-right party will get past the 5% hurdle. Jan Kasl's European Democrats have perhaps the best chance, but Kasl is playing with fire. ODS's people at Prague city hall are among the main proponents of hosting the Summer Olympics in 2016 or 2020. Kasl said on Czech TV on Fri. that the biggest theft at city hall is in construction contracts and that this is why politicians want the Olympics. We hear that Deputy Mayor Jan Bürgermeister has been holding tete-a-tetes with Skanska. The Olympics would cost Prague an estimated Kč 135bn. Ten percent of that is enough to get almost anyone's attention. [Czech Republic Olympic Games KDU-ČSL Czech Television ED building infrastructure corruption]