Final Word from Wednesday, October 25, 2006
The media favor ODS, but the tide is turning against Prague Mayor Pavel Bém. Before the elections, Jiří Hanák of Právo praised Bém and wondered why he isn't playing first fiddle in ODS. A week later, Hanák was more cautious after Bém spoke of the late-90s financial scandal that brought down Klaus as "accounting irregularities." Yesterday, Erik Tabery of Respekt said in LN that Bém is mainly interested in a political deal. Today in LN, Daniel Kaiser compared Bém to Stanislav Gross, and HN said Bém spent much more on the Prague elections than he admits. Bém glided to a huge victory, but a comparison with the parliamentary results indicates voters were mainly attracted by Mirek Topolánek's ODS, not Bém's. Topolánek has given ODS a new lease on life; Bém is a throwback to the "irregularities" of the 1990s and risks destroying all that Topolánek has achieved.[Czech Republic Lidové noviny Hospodářské noviny Václav Klaus]