WHAT'S ON BRITSKÉ LISTY

ODS and its Satellite Parties

23. 5. 2010 / Lukáš Kantor

Especially in what refers to the first two parties, which are supposed to be part of a plan on how to keep the center right Civic Democrats (ODS) in power. According to the plan, TOP 09 would play the role of catching right wing voters who are, for various reasons, disappointed with ODS. Topolanek supposedly consulted with his former Economy Minister, TOP 09's leader and former Christian Democrat leader Miroslav Kalousek about this plan already back in 2003. The "Zeman" party also plays a role, even if they don't get into parliament in the upcoming general elections, grabbing some of the Social Democrat's electorate, weakening the ODS rivals. And in case they do end up getting the minimum 5% of the votes, they could be helpful in putting together a center right coalition.

Just the role of newcomer political party Vec Verejna (Public Affairs), which has its popularity mainly arisen from its leader, the former investigative report TV show that was a hit for years on the main commercial channel, Radek John, stays unclear. Despite of the fact that Topolanek is supposed to have said that the party is a "mafia project", controlled by so-called Prague Bosses, including some from among those that surround and influence his own ODS party.

And, in the end, according to Plesl, the ex-prime minister also made official the sweet public secret that during his Minister of Defence, Vlasta Parkanova's administration, all acquisitions and transactions involved bribes in some way.

Each and every one of those statements would raise a wave of questioning by society and the media and arouse a lot of comments. But not in our Czech Republic. Here in our lands nobody smudges nor demented anything. We all evidently know that the Army's deals are not that good when it comes to transparency. But to listen to such a sharp judgment of what went on in that resort directly from the mouth of president of the government that was responsible for that reality, well, that's too much.

It is not surprising at all to hear the revelation that TOP 09 "belongs" to ODS, something that, ideologically, the party has never tried to hide. However, to learn directly from an insider witness from the time of the deal, that in reality Kalousek's and possibly even Zeman's party are just ODS' satellite parties, for tactical reasons, is a bit too much, all at once, to hear.

Even for a person who carries no major illusions about the quality of Czech democracy.

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