The Prague Post Online: News: President Klaus' reign to continue

December 5th, 2008

Endowment Fund Business Listings ONLINE Reservations Classifieds

Gift Subscriptions

Prague Property

President Klaus' reign to continue

Politicians seek return to normalcy in wake of election hype

By Markéta Hulpachová
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
February 20th, 2008 issue

ISIFA

Klaus' re-election was virtually assured from the outset of the Feb. 15 joint parliamentary session, in which officials' behavior was toned down. enlarge

"I am satisfied with the result of the presidential vote. I am not a keen fan of Klaus but I think he was the better candidate. ... I didn't follow [the election] much, I think it is kind of funny." Pavlína Dutá, social worker

"I am not happy with the result of the vote at all, because that asshole Klaus was re-elected. [The election] was a comedy; there is no other word for it." Jiří Bešťák, pensioner

"Hard to say. I wasn't very interested in the result of the vote because I know that I have no power over this election process." Alena Vodolánová, student

Well, I think it was pretty obvious from the beginning that Klaus was going to be re-elected, although it took longer. [The vote] was a shame; what else is there to say about it?" Veronika Kupcová, student enlarge

"I didn't care much about this vote. In fact, I am not interested at all as the vote is not in my hands." Artur Katrach, student

The Wild West antics that preceded the Feb. 15 re-election of President Václav Klaus left even the triumphant incumbent wishing the unfortunate saga would fade into oblivion.

“It is essential to move on, to leave this election behind us,” he told a crowd of journalists outside of the doors of the Spanish Hall after the results were announced. “The revealed fissure in the political scene cannot become a break in our path forward.”

Despite all the drama surrounding the first election Feb. 8 (which earned policymakers such labels as “cowboys” and “clowns” by the public and media), officials in the second election behaved as model students. No profanities were uttered, no temper tantrums thrown and, despite the anonymous death threats that had arrived on the desks of several Parliament representatives during the week, not one deputy was assassinated.

While some members of Parliament were undoubtedly behaving themselves due to embarrassment over the Feb. 8 fiasco, it’s far more likely that the placid tone of the second election was set by the Civic Democrats (ODS), whose victory over challenger Jan Švejnar was practically assured from the minute the Feb. 15 joint parliamentary session began.

With the nonchalant return of Josef Kalbáč — an ODS deputy whose abrupt departure from the first election contributed to its stalemate — and additional votes from certain Christian Democrats, the party was set to secure the 141 votes needed for Klaus’ re-election, resulting in a calm, celebratory mood amid the ODS ranks.

Perhaps the biggest show of the second election was staged by the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM), which decided against supporting Švejnar and responded to the Feb. 9 stalemate by seeking its own nominee.

After a pool of luminaries declined the honor, the party’s official nomination went to European Parliament representative and former TV commentator Jana Bobošíková, an unlikely choice that raised the eyebrows of many a politician.

“I consider her nomination a bit laughable,” Social Democratic Party Chairman Jiří Paroubek said at a Feb. 13 press conference. “She expresses anti-European, anti-socialist views. … I don’t understand how a lady who insults the KSČM could become its nominee.”

Indeed, it seemed apparent the Communists were using Bobošíková as a tool to gain leverage in the pro-Švejnar coalition of the Greens and the Social Democrats. In closed meetings that continued during the Feb. 15 session, the KSČM attempted to convince Green Party leadership to join the opposition to the planned U.S radar base on Czech soil — a demand Green Party Chairman Martin Bursík resolutely turned down.

Despite the KSČM’s string of unsuccessful attempts to negotiate with the Green Party and a livid Social Democratic leadership, it took Bobošíková until the conclusion of the Feb. 15 opening remarks — over three hours from the beginning of the parliamentary session — to withdraw from the race.

With comments such as “I wrote my speech, ironed my husband’s jacket and washed my hair” to prepare for this election, she undoubtedly succeeded in raising her visibility for upcoming elections to European Parliament, as news media observed. However, even with her stepping down so early in the day, the long-term damage to the pro-Švejnar coalition was already done.

“If Klaus is elected today, the Communist Party leadership will be to blame,” Paroubek thundered in an interview with Czech Television. “They have committed a colossal error.”

The great divide

In the end, it was former members of Paroubek’s own party — the “defectors” Miloš Melčák, Michal Pohanka, and, most recently, Evžen Snítilý (an obscure deputy whose abrupt decision to support Klaus raised allegations of bribery) — who contributed to the ultimate failure of the pro-Švejnar coalition.

Coupled with the mysterious absence of Green Party MP Olga Zubová (who essentially went home sick, then couldn’t be found by the official sent to fetch her) and the aberrant voting of certain Christian Democrats, the pro-Klaus votes of these three defectors cost Švejnar the election.

Despite their last-minute change of heart, the rift between the left-leaning Social Democrats and the KSČM cannot be undone.

“The pro-Švejnar coalition expected to receive the Communist vote … simply because it saw it as the party’s moral obligation,” said political analyst Bohumil Doležal. “Not even the silliest devil would go for this. The communists laid down tough criteria, and their tactical mistake was the fact that they turned to someone who, as it turned out, had nothing to promise them.”

With the election over and the hype dying down, the leaders of all five parliamentary parties are regrouping to rethink their strategy and go back to day-to-day politics.

This return to the norm, however, does not mean that the next five years with Klaus will be boring. Because the Constitution does not allow the president to run for more than two consecutive terms, Klaus can now essentially do whatever he pleases.

“Klaus has reached an era during which he no longer needs to fight for anyone’s goodwill,” said Charles University political scientist Zdeněk Zbořil. “This could mean that we should expect all sorts of surprises from him.”

Looking ahead to the end of that Klaus era, support for a direct presidential election continues to grow among top politicians representing a spectrum of political persuasions. The long-term fallout of this year’s electoral proceedings may lead to a change in legislation that would allow the public — not Parliament — to elect the head of state in 2013. However, Zbořil, for one, warns against this course of action.

“It wouldn’t be good, because it would allow the political scene to ride on a wave of populism,” he said. “We know what to expect from the current political parties, but with a directly elected presidential candidate supported by who-knows-what lobby, we would have no idea.”

Markéta Hulpachová can be reached at mhulpachova@praguepost.com

Be the first to add a comment!

Most e-mailed articles
Glass company declared bankrupt State pushes fish as healthy, tasty choice 10 Questions

Related articles
Deprivation dining

Most visited in Business Listings

The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
To subscribe to the print paper, click here.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.