Final Word from Wednesday, March 7, 2007
As Václav Klaus left Houston this week with Stetson in hand, he had every reason to do the Texas two-step. He had just met with George Bush Sr. to great media acclaim and was planning for a White House visit with Dick Cheney. More importantly, things at home were looking up. Sandwiched around his formal announcement on Feb. 28 of a reelection bid next year was one piece of good news after another. His main potential rival, Miloš Zeman, was crippled by the Gripen and Altner matters, which happened on Zeman's watch. The potential threat from the Havel camp was dealt a serious blow by the Josef Tošovský affair, which Havel handled particularly poorly. By (almost) getting back St. Vitus Cathedral, Klaus even won a victory over the Church, which could also theoretically field a candidate. Klaus now needs only to win the hearts and minds of his own party, ODS.[Czech Republic Zdeněk president presidential BAE Systems Czech National Bank]