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Orange shadow play ...

16. 7. 2010 / Ladislav Žák

What makes it even more sad is that the potential "orange" (the party's color) "roosters" within ČSSD don't realize that the post party president, who is the individual who has to cover the dealings of those in the shadow next to him, and if he gets worn out in that role, he is uncompromisingly cleared out and repudiated.

The only lucky one from among the previous Social Democratic chiefs was Vladimír Špidla, who was "ostracized" to Brussels, which was certainly much better than Miloš Zeman's escape from the Prague Castle, after losing the presidential elections, through the back door and back to the mountains, while Stanislav Gross was shot down after a bizarre series of tales of how he got enough money to buy some slightly better condominium. And, finally, the demeaning behaviour of the current party leadership towards Paroubek, whose abrasive rhetorics made possible for the current future candidates for decapitation to fight for the post.

No matter who wins, those in the shadows behind his back are the same old echelon's grudge, which demonstrated in the right moment get rid of the previous party head. And they are completely indifferent about how, at the moment, they flock around their future victim. Jiří Paroubek for a while got rid of their influence and when they got back to him, his fate had already been sealed.

In the end those in the shadows once again get together in behind-the-scenes opposition and easily get the worn down party president destroyed, once he stops protecting them.

Perhaps the solution for this would be direct elections for the post of party chief. He would then have an exceptional mandate, but today's ČSSD wouldn't have the guts for this, because such direct choice could allow for some less important members of the party to take over.

Another possible solution could be a collective leadership, without a president -- a combination that would allow for them to be much more visible over all issues, as far as they would take responsibility, instead of running away from any difficult question by saying that should be addressed to the party leader... The kind of widely used alibism of saying that "were it up to me, it would be different", is counterproductive.

The behaviour of the Social Democratic leadership is certainly an appreciated subject for everyone who pay attention to collective bullshit, the so-called group thinking, but the truth is that the problem is much deeper and comes from the absence of whatever real political program to be presented as an alternative to the positions taken by the government coalition and especially some seamless alternative vision for Czech society.

Other than their false anti-communism position, the Social Democrats don't have inside their pockets absolutely nothing and nestles into this coalition within some club of democratic parties. It is evident that the majority in the ČSSD leadership would not mind to be part of the coalition agreement works, and their center left orange T-shirt started to feel too tight, because to become part of the government is but a little turn to the right...

But really just a little bit to the right. After all, the kindest from them, this coalition, out of grace, even gets some sinecura. The even kinder among them will be able to stay as deputies in various government resorts. On the other hand, the top people from ČSSD know very well that this type of flirtation could mean for them that they won't get voted for any leadership position and that means they would loose their shadowy deals.

The party's cursed member base is, after all, rather to the left of their leaders. And those with voting rights within the member base are even more to the left. To expect from this current leadership, in a trance over the smell of their leather chairs some sort of leftist political program is really just wishful thinking.

The worse is that the Social Democratic party certainly won't see a real new leadership structure, nor any big theme explored for the upcoming regional county elections. And that could become the last blow to the ambitions of the current leadership. If ČSSD loses the local elections, then maybe the election of a party president will be possible for the first time not a result of a shadow play from the background, but a new fight with time to save the party.

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