Not long ago, the Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) presented the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) as a devil who wants to rule with Communist support. Then Christian Democratic (KDU-ČSL) Chairman Miroslav Kalousek was burned at the political stake by his own fellow party members for considering communist support. And Green Party Chairman Martin Bursík kept repeating that his party deputies would never raise a hand for a government backed by even one Communist vote. In a word: Any contact with the Communists was seen as a threat of returning to the pre-1989 era.

We haven't heard a voice warning against communism for quite a few days now — with the exception of Senator Martin Mejstřík. There's no word of warning from the President's Office, the ODS has stopped chanting "forever never with Communists," and the KDU-ČSL is in a state of meditation that makes it almost politically invisible. And Bursík exchanged the Communist scare for an ODS-ČSSD grand coalition scare.

The ODS has three possibilities as to how to party in the government office dining room after eight long years of fasting. The party could pass an early election bill as in 1998, or a Senate motion could make it possible to dissolve simple majority rule in the Chamber. Or a nonparty interim Cabinet could take over until the new elections. The ČSSD is hardly in favor of this, and the only other party left to support the 100 right-wing deputies is the KSČM. Even President Václav Klaus will hold talks with the Communists, as if he were trying to tell voters, "Don't vote ČSSD, vote Communist." Who knows, perhaps one day Klaus will invite KSČM Chairman Vojtěch Filip to his mansion in Lány for lunch.

But what happened to all these parties' principles? The fact is that people laugh at principles when they are on their way to power. Should the three right-wing parties come to power thanks to the Communists, their leaders should wear clown's hats for the rest of their term in office, Verner writes.

Brno's reconstructed náměstí Svobody was festively opened shortly before the municipal elections, but local politicians assured all that "there's nothing wrong with presenting a success" to which they pitched in 500,000 Kč ($22,133) for a grand party with fireworks and a laser show, Karel Škrabal writes in Mladá fronta Dnes Oct. 20.

It took the party host a long time to mention that the square was in fact reconstructed with taxpayers' money. The construction company official stood side by side with the politicians who gave him the deal, but let's be honest: Czechs don't even know anymore whether to consider this bad. Naturally enough, this wasn't the only square or park, pavement or playground finished shortly before the municipal polls. With all the splendor around, who would ask if the project could have been cheaper or why exactly this company got the deal, and not another one. As for those who call for more than newly reconstructed cities, who call for a free and just country — let them move into the fairy-tale world, Škrabal writes.