Klaus as political analyst

President Václav Klaus again made the headlines this morning for criticizing the cabinet's inadequate reform steps. Political analyst Bohumil Doležal told Czech TV's "Bez obalu" show that Klaus is the cabinet's principal media critic. Klaus has been rather nice to Premier Stanislav Gross recently, though, and hasn't said anything that others aren't saying even louder. Some observers argue that it was Klaus who "made" Gross by accepting him last summer as the premier. Klaus could have dismissed Gross as being unfit for the job, but he apparently saw Gross as a way to weaken ODS Chair Mirek Topolánek. The irony is that Gross himself turned out to be so weak that Topolánek's stature increased. With his public pronouncements, Klaus is now able to tip the public-opinion scales in Gross's direction or Topolánek's, depending on what serves his own interests at the moment. [Czech Television Czech Republic]