Mafia politics

ODS Chair Mirek Topolánek said this week that he hasn't received an offer he couldn't refuse from ČSSD with regard to forming a new government. It's useful to know he's read The Godfather. A study of the book and films gives a clue as to why he'll probably never be the confirmed prime minister, or at least not for very long. "He should be careful," as Michael Corleone said, "It's dangerous to be an honest man." The Godfather shows how interlaced big crime and big politics are. Politicians must have a weak spot that allows the crooks behind the scenes to control them. Topolánek had his brief apartment scandal, and an effort was made to pin the VAE debt on him, but he basically seems to be dangerously clean. That's why he might soon find out what it means, at least figuratively, to sleep with the fishes. If he does make it to the PM job, he should remember Michael Corleone's words of warning: "When they come, they come at what you love." [Czech Republic criminality flat housing]