Final Word from Thursday, April 7, 2005
Before Miloš Zeman and Václav Klaus signed their infamous "opposition agreement" in 1998, almost no one saw it coming. Not this time. The media (HN yesterday, notably) and a few analysts are starting to realize that Václav Klaus and ODS are systematically working to wipe out ČSSD. The goal is a single opponent on the left, the Communist Party, that can be easily defeated in elections and that's open to opposition agreements on the election of the president and perhaps other issues (such as the EU) in exchange for legitimacy. ČSSD sees what is happening but, in clinging to Stanislav Gross, refuses to act. The longer it waits, the more it will be faced with an ultimatum: Perish as a political movement, or plead for the Communists to merge into a single, center-left reformed party that can prevent ODS from dominating Czech politics for at least the next decade.[Czech Republic Hospodářské noviny KSČM European Union constitution]