Final Word from Tuesday, October 3, 2006
There are two main reasons why Mirek Topolánek won't win confirmation as the Czech premier when he goes to Parliament for it today. First, there simply hasn't been enough time for ODS and the Miloš Zeman wing of ČSSD to discredit Jiří Paroubek sufficiently before the vote, as hard as Paroubek has tried to help. If a few of ČSSD's MPs walked out of the chamber in support of Topolánek, they'd get the blame for ČSSD's defeat in the upcoming Senate and local elections, not Paroubek. Second is the special-interest issue. Neither Topolánek nor Paroubek has the backing of the big money. Topolánek could perhaps be turned in this respect, but he still presents too much of an unknown element. In contrast, a Klaus-inspired interim government, with Zeman's supple assistance (but without Topolánek or Paroubek), meets nearly everyone's needs. Perhaps even the voters'. [Czech Republic prime minister vote of confidence lobby]