Communists in a bind

The Communists are in a difficult situation. They have the power to topple the Gross government tomorrow and to humiliate their only real rival for left-wing voters. But their hands are tied. If they actively bring down the coalition government in the no- confidence vote in Parliament, they'll be accused of paving the way for ODS and KDU-ČSL to come to power and could lose the support of many leftist voters. If they support the cabinet, they'll be giving ČSSD an undeserved chance to regroup and to put itself back together before the elections. As Právo wrote today, the Communists will likely opt to back the cabinet. They have little choice, actually. They have a lot in common with President Václav Klaus in this respect. As much as they want ČSSD to disintegrate as a party, they can't be seen by the general public as doing anything to precipitate its decline. [Czech Republic Communist Party Stanislav Gross]