Final Word from Tuesday, April 26, 2005
When Václav Klaus told Time magazine last month that the EU reminds "us" in the CR of Comecon, a certain Tomáš Procházka of Prague wrote Time saying that Klaus doesn't speak for him. Klaus and the Communists represent only the close-minded part of the CR, he declared. Few Czech politicians are willing to stand up to Klaus like this. Jakub Železný of Czech TV noted in LN that when he was hosting a debate show, 18 politicians in a row turned down an offer to face Klaus on the air. New Premier Jiří Paroubek has set ratification of the EU constitution as his top priority, but he's not foolish enough to go head-to-head with Klaus on the issue. Only House Speaker Lubomír Zaorálek seems willing to take this risk. Zaorálek has the arguments, but he lacks the pizzazz. Unless Zaorálek gets some backing, Klaus is going to carry the day on the EU constitution. [Czech Republic president Parliament European Union ČSSD ODS Europe]