Final Word from Thursday, June 29, 2006
If Mirek Topolánek manages to win confirmation for his ODS-KDU-Green government, he will have outfoxed the three old foxes of Czech politics - Václav Klaus, Václav Havel and Miloš Zeman. Klaus needs an ODS-ČSSD grand coalition or similar construction to win reelection; Havel is a leftist who would prefer to see the Greens side with ČSSD; and Zeman wants some kind of minority configuration that gives him continued say over what's happening. The only way for Topolánek to become king of the hill is to turn to the Communists for the crucial votes needed for forming his cabinet and winning confirmation. If he turns instead to ČSSD, he'll open the door for a solution that better suits Klaus, Havel or Zeman and that could end with his own head on a platter. Topolánek still has plenty of sleepless nights ahead of him. He has a thing against negotiating with the Communists, so he'll have to let KDU Chair Miroslav Kalousek do the deal.[Czech Republic KDU-ČSL Communist Party KSČM]