Final Word from Wednesday, May 4, 2005
When Václav Klaus attended the pope's funeral, Czech newspapers printed a picture of him rubbing shoulders with Jacques Chirac. For the most part, foreign newspapers cropped Klaus out of the picture. Showing a euroskeptic next to Chirac would send a bad signal. Some Czech politicians are also in the process of cropping Klaus out of the picture. They fear that if the EU constitution goes to a vote of the people, Mr. No (It All) will win. So, they're making plans to skip the referendum and to put the draft to a vote in Parliament. Furthermore, they want to pass it with a simple majority, instead of the three-fifths' normally required for international treaties. To do this, the Yes men will have to stretch the Czech constitution beyond recognition. Remember, these are the same people who accused Klaus of violating the constitution during the recent government crisis. [Czech Republic Pope John Paul II Rome Vatican president France international know]