Final Word from Monday, August 7, 2006
It used to seem that Central Europe was the model for Eastern Europe, but now Ukraine is setting the tone for the CR. After four months of negotiations, President Viktor Yushchenko appointed his rival Viktor Yanukovich as prime minister, shutting out reform candidate Yulia Tymoshenko. Instead of an Orange revolution, Ukrainians have an Orange-Blue coalition. These happen to be the colors of ČSSD and ODS, too. The Czechs are two months behind, but the result could be similar: An Orange-Blue coalition headed by someone whose days seemed over. Smart money will now start betting that the new-old PM of the CR will be Jiří Paroubek. Instead of Ukraine's "National Unity Universal," the Czechs will have Paroubek's "Historical Compromise." It's a suitable name, because any grand plans for enacting reforms and combatting corruption will be historically compromised.[Czech Republic premier Mirek Topolánek Václav Klaus]