Chairman of the board

Every company needs a statutory representative, and it's no different with Česká republika a.s. Miroslav Kalousek of TOP 9.1 is ready to sell his mother to become chairman of the board (and finance minister). He would be the most-powerful person in the country and, unless his authorities were trimmed, would oversee not only Temelín but also many of the dossiers dear to the Five Families. Close observers of the Czech media will have noticed a subtle shift in recent days. Coverage has drifted away from the regional "godfathers" and toward the very top layer of "byznys" - Penta's airport deals, J&T's profiteering from the D11 eminent domain, PPF's sale of a monster building to a tiny Prague 7, everybody's stake in environmental cleanup, Zdeněk Bakala's interest in sidelining ČSSD. Leeching off the public budgets is the only growth industry, and as chairman of the board, Kalousek would be the enabler. [Czech Republic KKCG RPG Vodochody]