Morality play

It's a comment on the state of Czech society that the country's biggest current moral authority, Karel Schwarzenberg, is a political tourist who helped whitewash one of the country's biggest recent corruption cases (Jiří Čunek's). And that the country's biggest budget authority, Miroslav Kalousek, has more fiscal red on his hands than any other single politician. More than ever before, the country lacks a real moral authority, a voice of reason, impartiality and gravitas. It needs a Bill Cosby, able to tell people how to overcome the obstacles set for them by politicians and corporations. For many people, Václav Havel once served this role. He lost some followers by supporting U.S.-led wars and the radar station without weighing the long- term consequences. He lost others this week when he refused to take a stance in MFD's magazine on the implications of the Tuscany affair. Perhaps Havel is too tired to worry about the fate of his country. Or perhaps his penchant for hitching rides on corporate jets has blurred his own moral compass. [Czech Republic TOP 09 KDU-ČSL]