Bem in the crosshairs

Reporters from MF Dnes have been known to boast in private - and justifiably so - that their investigative articles can bring down politicians. So it is no small matter when MFD takes Prague Mayor Pavel Bém in its sights. The daily helped Bém get where he is today by praising him but suddenly has few good words for him. After criticizing him for flip-flopping on the National Library project, MFD went for his pocketbook today by questioning his relationship with developer Zbyněk Kareš. It was also among the first to speak aloud the name of city hall fixer Roman Janoušek. This presents all kinds of possibilities for future investigative articles. It's very odd: The newspaper that is Václav Klaus's biggest fan is becoming the nemesis of Klaus's own biggest fan, Pavel Bém. Perhaps it's just a case of MFD exercising its journalistic prerogative. Or perhaps it signals a change in the Klaus-Bém relationship. [Czech Republic president Michael Development real-estate Mafra]