Minister of cool

When Bruce Springsteen introduces members of his E Street Band in concert, he calls them "godfathers of the guitar," "ministers of soul" and "deans of the universe." Czech IT managers have reason to be just as enthusiastic about their new minister of the internet, Vladimír Mlynář. He assumes powers in IT and telecoms tomorrow and is promising a revolution in computer literacy. This, of course, means big business for IT companies. Mlynář, who openly speaks of himself as a socialist, has based his campaign on the idea that computer literacy shouldn't be the domain of just the rich. He ignores arguments, such as those advanced last week in MF Dnes, that computers are leading to a decline in traditional literacy. Teaching young children to use the internet might be like teaching them to watch TV, but the internet is cool, and Mlynář wants to be cool too.