Final Word from Wednesday, August 16, 2006
All happy families are alike, and all unhappy families are unhappy in their own way. Everything is topsy-turvy in the Topolánek household. The wife learned that the husband is having an affair and announced that they can no longer reside in the same political party. She took revenge by jumping into bed with Politics 21 to run for the Senate. Compare this to David Rath, who openly practices "bigamy," or to Václav Klaus, whose wife took it with humor when he started seeing a young blonde. The Rath and Klaus households are happy, at least as seen from the outside, but Topolánek's case is an unhappy one. His failure to keep his hands to himself during the most important moment of his political career will be seen as a major weakness. And the fact that he allowed his indiscretion to affect his political party is inexcusable. This has the makings of a tragic Tolstoyan dénouement.[Czech Republic Anna Karenina Lev Tolstoy infidelity]