Final Word from Wednesday, July 14, 2010
How would Zdeněk Tůma, as Prague mayor, handle the partial collapse of the Blanka tunnel? Would he launch a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the choice of the tunnel route and the contractor, even if it meant turning Prague city hall upside down? Or would the ex-CNB governor move beyond the events of the past, in the interest of the consensus-building that is his forte? We simply don't know how pragmatic Tůma would be as mayor, but his willingness to join forces with Miroslav Kalousek gives us a clue. By agreeing to run on TOP's ticket, Tůma will be voluntarily putting himself in the same position as Karel Schwarzenberg of having to regularly defend Kalousek's past. With each defense, Tůma will lose a bit of his own credibility. Unless, perhaps, Tůma's candidacy for mayor becomes the beginning of the process of pushing Kalousek out of the very party he founded.[Czech Republic Czech National Bank]
Glossary of difficult words
consensus-building - the process of reaching general agreement;
forte - a thing at which a person excels;
pragmatic - dealing with things sensibly and realistically; in the Czech context, this often means to overlook corruption even if one is opposed to it;
ticket - a list of candidates put forward by a party in an election; there is no indication yet whether Tůma will actually join TOP 09.