WHAT'S ON BRITSKÉ LISTY

Who is really in charge?

14. 7. 2010 / Štěpán Kotrba

Perhaps at a first glance that isn't clear, but the truth is that ODS lost all it could in this coalition.

All powerful ministerial posts go to the other two parties in the coalition. I consider as truly powerful those ministries where money flows, and that is certainly no longer a reality for the Ministry of Defense, for example. The era when military property was being sold is already gone. And big plans about weapons acquisitions are also not in the agenda -- the purchase of armored carriers have already been approved. Big money sums will be part of that resort only later, when new jet fighters will be bought, but that can also be somehow well managed. It will be in the end exactly ODS who will have to explain to the public why there will be such huge spending cuts in the military budget.

ODS may have more ministers in number, but what will they be in charge of? Industry, agriculture -- and also the environment, which are, nowadays, in terms of distribution of government budget funds, very weak ministries. Taken together, a little bit over 30 billion Czech crowns will flow, if we don't count the money from the European Union.

By contrast, the other coalition partners ended up much better. Just the Ministry of Transports, for example, sees a flow of 30 billion alone, while over 100 billion go to the Ministry of Education. And we could go on...

Crucial, however, is who is in charge of the State Treasury. Let's not forget Petr Nečas` promise that ODS would keep the Economy Ministry in their hands. Those who can imagine where the behind-the-scenes pressure came from, can only laugh. Those knew that the Economy will ultimately fall into the previous holder of that seat, Miroslav Kalousek. And that's just what ended up happening.

The power of TOP 09 and Miroslav Kalousek has grown enormously in this new government. Why Nečas allowed such a thing is not so clear. As if he had forgotten, how something similar has already happened in the past. In 2002, when Vladimír Špidla chose the inexperienced (and not very lettered on finances) Bohuslav Sobotka for the Economy Ministry. At the same time he allowed Miroslav Kalousek (an experienced civil servant) to be the head of the budget committee. And with him, Kalousek brought some protection. One of his deputies in the budget committee was parlamentarian Kraus, an also notorious matador in the Parliament, who knew how to get what he wanted. How could inexperienced Sobotka be successful in such a frame? It ended up as expected -- he was treated like a novice, with a lot of homework to do.

The consequence of Špidla's choice is that the Social Democrats got blamed for all the unpopular measures taken at the time, even if it was led to it by the pressure from their own coalition partners.

Nowadays it seems that Petr Nečas wants to repeat the same mistake. This time at the top of the budget committee is the inexperienced Pavel Suchánek, from ODS, who will be totally dependant on what the Ministry of Economy tells him. And once again the situation will be that all unpopular measures done by the government will fall in the head of the premier and his party, while both other coalition partners can pretend they have nothing to do with it...

That kind of thing has already started, by the way. Haven't the leaders of both Public Affairs party (VV) and TOP 09 declared they will try to take over the control of the capital's government and get the position of mayor of Prague -- a traditional ODS territory? Will ODS give away even that position?

Why ODS is letting itself get weaker is also not clear. Isn't ODS a party that intends to be present in the Czech political scene longer than just for this government mandate? Different from TOP 09, which doesn't look like it wants to continue existing in the next general elections. To expect that elderly "admiral" Karel Schwarzenberg would be able to fight new elections is not too realistic. And the Public Affairs party? Even what some call the "Public Bullshit" party acts as a party for one election only. Like their creators and sponsors wanted to try to enter high politics, which, oddly enough, it worked.

Let's wait to see how they all will talk in about a year, once they realize that all that civil service is rather boring and, more than anything else, there is always someone inquiring why this or that from what they promised (out of the magic hat) in their program, simply didn't work...

By distributing the resorts as he did, Petr Nečas has taken over his shoulders the responsibility over ODS` fate. Maybe he will be able to show that he will be the one in charge, not Miroslav Kalousek, who obviously won the first round.

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