Final Word from Wednesday, September 27, 2006
The new generation of politicians who are supposed to bring fresh wind to city hall and Parliament aren't always any better than their older colleagues. Justice Minister Jiří Pospíšil could be an exception. While still in the opposition, he was one of the forces behind bankruptcy reform and, as minister, he has concrete plans for speeding up the judiciary. His defense of under-30 judges with no worldly experience might be a stretch, but what can we expect from a 31-year-old child prodigy? Pospíšil made the tabloids for hiring his male lover to run his office, and rumor has it that people in his own party (ODS) were behind it. Not everyone shares his enthusiasm for judicial reform. It's a good sign for social tolerance that his sexual orientation didn't bother many people, but to reach his full potential as a new-generation politician, he'll need to resolve the issue of "nepotism" in hiring.[Czech Republic]