Final Word from Thursday, July 14, 2005
Has Mirek Topolánek met his maker in Jiří Paroubek? Since becoming premier, Paroubek has already managed to bring ČSSD back to a level of popularity that, statistically speaking, is nearly even with ODS's. He has also adopted two tough tactics for bringing Topolánek down. For one, he's employing unusually insulting language. We've heard in recent days that the ODS chairman isn't very sophisticated, that he's a simple person who doesn't understand public finance, that he only speaks about shit-this and shit-that, and that ČSSD could not hope for a better leader of the opposition. Paroubek, a leftist, has also started talking about promoting the rise of a new center-right party and has taken initial steps in this direction. Both of these tactics are clearly meant to turn voters against Topolánek. Paroubek, perhaps with President Václav Klaus's blessing, seems to be trying to provoke a leadership crisis within ODS. [Czech Republic Fifth Element SNP European Democrats ED]