Without a doubt, past Social Democratic governments have had a role in this growth. Miloš Zeman and Pavel Mertlík expanded the system of investment incentives although they often seemed more like pandering. Strong foreign investors, specializing in exports, flocked to the country as a result and helped form the backbone of the Czech economy.

Last year, despite the strong crown, exports from this country exceeded the imports for the first time.

But aside from a few exceptions, the success of these firms had little to do with the quality or uniqueness of their products. Nor does it mean that the label "Czech Made" has become a mark of prestige. More than anything else, the success results from the cheapness of these products — the "Czech Cheap" label.

For foreign firms, the cheapness by far overshadows any negative aspects for investors here.

But the Social Democrats are responsible for the negative aspects as well. It still takes much longer to set up a firm here than it does in Western countries. Corruption and overgrown bureaucracy remain a problem, the tax system lacks transparency, and the courts are slow — the picture isn't quite so rosy after all — which is perfect ammunition for the Civic Democrats' pre-election guns.

The Social Democrats haven't been able to improve investment conditions here. Once investors move to markets further east, where the labor is even cheaper, we are in for a sobering wake-up call, Orálek writes.

Prime Minister Paroubek's effort to make the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSťM) a politically responsible entity is a strategically smart move, but it is not the right move for the Social Democrats (ťSSD) after the Green Party's grand entry into the election arena, writes Jiří Hanák, a columnist for Právo March 9. Paroubek should have anticipated the Green Party's importance because our era has been "pregnant with" the party for a while.

Paroubek is right about one thing. The media have generally not been on his side. This, however, is not the main reason for ťSSD's declining voter preference.

It has been a well-known fact that if the Green Party can break the 5 percent barrier, it will be feeding on the "blood of ťSSD." In essence, the greens have always been compatible with the democratic left. Vladimír Špidla, ťSSD's leader a few years ago, realized that and wanted to build a coalition. Špidla won the election with a tough anti-communist position. The Greens would have no problem cooperating with him.

Paroubek, on the other hand, bets on a minority government, supported by the KSťM. If you factor in the ťSSD's less than ideal relationship with the Christian Democrats, the Social Democrats will need at least 30 percent of the votes if they want to remain the leading party. One hundred days before the election, this will hardly be possible without the interference of some kind of provenance, says Hanák.