Final Word from Wednesday, February 3, 2016

It's become axiomatic that the coalition enjoys a high approval rating after two years on the job because it hasn't had any major scandals. This is the line put forth not only by coalition politicians themselves, but also by coalition-friendly commentators. But how accurately does this explain what is going on? Certainly, the lover of the PM hasn't been arrested, as was the case during the reign of Petr Nečas. Nor has Karel Randák released any Tuscany-like photos. But the overall number of scandals is now probably the highest in Czech history. It's a virtual ABC of scandals: Agrotec's criminal charges, the felon Karel Březina's continued role at Prague city hall, ČEZ's shutdowns, the OKD disaster, Babiš's play for Oleo Chemical with the help of the police, Škoda Transportation's arbitration, Stork's Nest.... Isn't the key difference that the mainstream media are almost all controlled by the coalition and have decided not to make a real scandal of any scandal? [Czech Republic Agrofert Andrej Czech Railways Jana Nagyová Nečasová]