Topolánek's Fall Surprised Me

29. 3. 2010

The end of Mirek Topolánek's days as the head of the center-right Civic Democrats (ODS) was a big surprise for me. It was the result of an affair which emerged after his controversial remarks for gay magazine LUI, which were in my view more "hick" than xenophobic statements. That new publication wanted to get some free publicity, so they released to the media even the former premier's "pub talk".

We can say that the media has been more than used to Topolánek's controversial remarks during all this time he has been ODS leader, so a seasoned journalist or anyone from the established press would not make much of those words, if they had been said to them.

Who would imagine that Topolánek could fall after a couple of sentences in the style of former Social Democratic (ČSSD) premier Miloš Zeman? The reality is, though, that ODS is under pressure from bad numbers in opinion polls, with the general elections happening the last week of May, so they are very nervous. Evidence to that is even the fact that the otherwise gutless and without initiative ODS Senator Přemysl Sobotka attacked the former prime minister and party colleague, asking publicly for his resignation.

In whose name is the Senate leader speaking? Is he from the ODS Prague mayor Pavel Bém and Prague's 5th district Chief Magistrate Jančík's fraction of the party? Or from those from the regions, who in the clash between former Minister of Development Petr Gandalovič and Topolánek lined up with Gandalovič? Or is Sobotka just losing his temper, because instead of his dreamed candidacy for the Czech presidency, the current weakening of ODS` position threatens that wish?

For his inexpressive and gutless politics (who can tell what is his political agenda and for which policies he stands for in all the time he has been the Senate's president?) Přemysl Sobotka doesn't deserve anything.

As has been already warned by Petr Nachtmann on Britský Listy, the "Lui Affair" eclipsed the looming -- and much more serious -- scandals surrounding Prague mayor Pavel Bém and former Minister of Interior Ivan Langer.

Petr Nečas, who was once the third potential heir to Klaus` position (after a still unknown Topolánek and an ambicious Petr Zahradil), is now ballot leader candidate for the Civic Democrats (ODS) in the upcoming May general elections, nonetheless has no mandate.

Nečas is just a make-shift solution. And even if ODS under his leadership won the 2010 elections, Nečas still cannot become his party's leader or premier. Civic Democratic Party (ODS) voters are now in a situation, where they have to vote for people who are throwing dirt on each other, falling prey to the free publicity a lucky new gay magazine needed for its launch. Czech politics!

I pondered a lot -- with my teeth creaking -- whether I should vote for ODS in the Summer elections. Just that I could not imagine that they were in actuality even worse than I thought.

But one thing we can be sure of: regardless of how we vote, always what emerges from the elections are stalemates, weak governments or big coalitions.

David Vodrážka was to appear in the Sunday political talk show of Václav Moravec, on the public Czech Television. I cannot understand how such a colorless political puppet could become deputy leader of the biggest "center right" party...

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Obsah vydání | Úterý 6.4. 2010