Kubice III

Jiří Paroubek was perhaps right when he declared that ODS was planning a "Kubice II" attack on him. His own preemptive strike 10 days ago might have changed the form of the attack, but yesterday's Kubice III claim by ODS that it and numerous journalists might have been under wiretap by the Paroubek government with regard to the Kubice leak was clearly aimed at discrediting Paroubek himself. He was the one implicated in the original Kubice organized-crime report and is the one who ultimately must explain the eavesdropping. ODS has effectively cultivated the belief that Paroubek is a dictator, and we all know that dictators love to tap phones. The timing of Kubice III - before the confidence vote and too far from the elections to be remembered - suggests that ODS might indeed see a chance to split ČSSD in time to win confirmation on the first attempt on Oct. 4. [Czech Republic telepones wiretapping]