Final Word from Wednesday, October 17, 2007
We never liked the design for a new national library at Letná - too slimy green, too mollusk-like, and too expensive. The decision to approve it was wrong, we thought, but so is the new decision to turn Yes into No at the drop of a hat, without a clear explanation of the motives. Alas, two wrongs make a right in this case, so we're delighted the "octopus" won't come to life. Some pundits say ODS, and esp. Mayor Pavel Bém, changed its mind about the creature in deference to Václav Klaus, who opposed the design and was shut out of the decision-making process. Others say it's another manifestation of the growing spread of Bém's suction-like tentacles into every nook and cranny of the city administration. Our delight at the death of the "blob" quickly makes way for trepidation over what Bém has planned for the prime Letná real estate. Our worst fear, of course, is that three wrongs won't make a right.[Czech Republic city hall]