Like there's no tomorrow

With the Czech judicial system the way it is, written contracts are often merely the starting point for further negotiations. And this is how many people see the cancellation yesterday of the CR's Kč 20bn contract with Steyr for 200 armored personnel carriers. The bet seems to be that the two sides will return to the table once the supplier sweetens its offer. The question, though, is how much of the sweetener will go to Czech taxpayers in the form of better amphibious vehicles and how much will trickle down to government and ministerial officials. Pavel Verner of Právo suggested that this is a repeat of the Kapsch deal, where ODS criticized the e-toll contract before the elections, only to jump into bed with Kapsch afterwards. How the government resolves the Steyr affair will also perhaps give us a clue about what's really behind the cabinet's blind support for Boeing & Co.'s missile-defense extravagance. [Czech Republic radar Austria General Dynamics electronic highway tolls]