Final Word from Thursday, October 19, 2023

MP Jakub Michálek of the Pirates caused a political storm in the ruling coalition when he told Czech TV on Sept. 14 that STAN used the black funds that it stole from DP Praha transit company to finance the illegal campaign in the 2021 parliamentary elections for circling out the Pirates. Yet when push came to shove in Parliament yesterday, the Pirates didn't support the effort of ANO and SPD to bring down the Fiala government in a no-confidence vote. Michálek had already explained on Sept. 14 on ČT24 that the majority view within his party is that the Pirates shouldn't sacrifice their own ministers because of someone else's scandal and that the Dosimeter problem must be dealt with where it arose. In other words, STAN's problem is STAN's problem. Michálek said in Parliament yesterday that STAN Chair Vít Rakušan swore to the Pirates in a meeting that he had nothing to do with the Dosimeter people and that they've all been dumped. In other words, Rakušan better be as clean as he claims to be. [ Czech Republic Television circle out ]