Final Word from Monday, February 28, 2005
As Václav Klaus completes his second year as president, he's flying high. First he got his photo op with George W. Bush, then MFD commissioned a poll declaring him more popular than Václav Havel, and now he's at the center of the crisis resolution. He's been all over the media since Fri., but he's quick to point out that the various interviews were agreed months in advance and weren't a result of the crisis. Klaus's carefully chosen words haven't committed him to anything. He hinted vaguely that he might be willing to push the constitution to the extreme to resolve the crisis, but in the end he'll probably tread lightly. The next Parliament will presumably be the one that decides whether to reelect him as president, and he can't afford to make many enemies. Whatever scenario he prefers for resolving the political crisis, he'll have his own reelection foremost in mind. [Czech Republic U.S. United States MF Dnes]