Myopic Mirek

It's often said that John McCain is linking his political future to that of George W. Bush. McCain himself says that if he can't convince U.S. voters that things are going well in Iraq, he loses. In a sense, the same applies to Mirek Topolánek. He's buying into the Bush program in terms of radar, Russia, visa-waivers, Afghanistan and Nato enlargement. Consciously or not, Topolánek is helping Bush to divide Europe and to deepen the rift between Russia and the West. Topolánek wants McCain to win the U.S. election because he's a "guarantee of the continuation" of Bush's policies. If Bush's gambles pay off, McCain and Topolánek both look like visionaries. If Bush goes out instead as the worst president in U.S. history (as many critics are saying), Topolánek could go down as the worst PM in Czech history. Not for his domestic policy (too much competition there), but for his shortsighted foreign policy. [Czech Republic United States of America visas prime minister presidential]