First Kasl, now Topolanek

Three months elapsed between the time then-Mayor Jan Kasl spoke in May 2002 about corruption at Prague city hall and the day he was forced out of office. ODS now works much more quickly. It took only 17 days to topple Mirek Topolánek after he let his tongue loose at the Hilton on March 8. Coincidentally, both Kasl and Topolánek were speaking at events of the American Chamber of Commerce. And coincidentally, their explosive comments about corruption were first reported both in 2002 and 2010 in the Final Word. But it was probably Jaroslav Plesl's column in LN that sealed Topolánek's fate, and not the Final Word or any insensitive comments about homosexuals and Jews. Topolánek openly spoke about billions of crowns in crooked deals. That cannot go unpunished. ODS shot down the messenger. ČSSD called for criminal investigations. With Topolánek gone, things can now return to normal. [Czech Republic Lidové noviny]