Draw by agreement

Critics who say the last five months of stalemate could have been avoided if the politicians had been more willing to compromise fail to recognize how important the process was. Czech voters are only now getting fed up enough with politics to be willing to accept some form of collaboration between ODS and ČSSD. A grand coalition or opposition agreement was anathema in June but a reality in Nov. Of course, KDU-ČSL will need to be brought in to take away the two-party taint. The details still need to be worked out, and more twists and turns are likely. It's not yet clear whether the final outcome will be a victory for Václav Klaus, Miloš Zeman or neither. To the victor goes the presidency. However, if Mirek Topolánek manages to form a government without ingratiating himself to either Klaus or Zeman, he might be in a position to push through a surprise, third candidate. [Czech Republic presidential elections]