Final Word from Friday, July 7, 2006
Vice Chair Jan Kasal of KDU-ČSL will be the candidate today of the ODS-KDU-Green coalition for speaker of the House, but it will be KDU Chair Miroslav Kalousek who is more on trial. If the coalition fails to elect a House speaker and ultimately fails to win confirmation, Kalousek's days as kingmaker and dealmaker could be over. ČSSD won't back Kasal, so he and Kalousek will have to turn to the Communists. This won't go down well. Remember, Kalousek was the one who referred to the Communist Party as a criminal organization. Any deal with the Communists will also be cramped by the report this week that KSČM Chair Vojtěch Filip knowingly collaborated with the Czechoslovak intelligence service. This was a nice bit of timing for those wanting a grand coalition. A grand coalition, if it finally comes, will be Kalousek's worst nightmare, because it will remove him from the center of politics and the money flow. [Czech Republic Christian Democrats StB secret police ODS-ČSSD Parliament]