Klaus brandishes his crutch

Lidové noviny, which is positioning itself as the mainstream media's conscience of the nation, jumped on Václav Klaus today for stepping out of character regarding the Kroll report on Jiří Čunek's finances. Klaus criticized Karel Schwarzenberg for dilly- dallying with the report, but LN noted that Klaus himself paid little attention to an earlier Kroll report about Viktor Kožený. Why is Klaus so interested this time, LN asked? It was a rhetorical question, but one that deserves a serious answer. Our take on it is that Klaus was actually responding to the recent media attack on his man Martin Pecina. Klaus was indirectly edging Schwarzenberg toward resignation, but not because he has anything against Schwarzenberg or Čunek. The real motivation, it seems, is to disrupt the Topolánek team so that a provisional government - run by Pecina or someone else of Klaus's choosing - can be installed by January. [Czech Republic antitrust office competition technocratic]