ODS's emergency team

When Jiří Rusnok was sacked as minister of industry in mid-March, ODS couldn't praise him enough. ODS singled him out as the only trained economist in the Špidla cabinet. When President Václav Klaus accepted the resignation yesterday of Jaroslav Tvrdík as defense minister, Chancellor Jiří Weigl praised Tvrdík in Klaus' name, calling him the most distinctive defense minister the CR has ever had. By praising ministers who can't get along with Vladimír Špidla and who are widely seen as being competent, Klaus and ODS aren't just fulfilling the role of the opposition by highlighting the cabinet's weaknesses. They also seem to be preparing a small team of ČSSD outcasts who could fill seats in the provisional government that would take over if the Špidla cabinet collapsed. Speculation has already arisen that Rusnok could be the interim prime minister.