Loyalty among thieves

Under the well-known "prisoner's dilemma" scenario, two partners in crime are better off individually if they confess than if they remain silent. But if they both remain silent, each is better off than if both confess. Stanislav Gross and Miroslav Kalousek find themselves in a similar situation. If they had both watched their tongue during the crisis, they could have carried on in their merry little coalition cabinet. But they decided to turn on each other, thinking that it was in their individual best interest. The problem now is that the cops - the voters, in this case - already know the story and won't allow the two "prisoners" to take anything back. The situation has gotten so out of hand that the end result will be worse for each than if they had kept quiet in the first place. The moral to the prisoner's dilemma scenario, of course, is that there should be loyalty among thieves. [Czech Republic government KDU-ČSL ČSSD chairman]