Betting on Bem

Evžen Tošenovský has been the most visible politician since he announced a week ago that he'll run for ODS chairman in Dec. He was no media novice before his announcement, having served for years as mayor of Ostrava, but his performance over the past week has gotten better and better with each added appearance. The anti-Klaus establishment is doing what it can to see that his star continues to rise. Tošenovský does indeed appear to have a good chance of succeeding Klaus, but if we had to put our money today on a single horse, we'd bet instead on Prague 6 Mayor Pavel Bém. He's leading ODS's Prague campaign, and a success in the city elections will apparently confirm him as Klaus' clear favorite to take over as ODS chair in a year or two. The big question is whether the Czech media, or Klaus, will choose ODS's next chairman.