Partners in crime

Stanislav Gross told Právo on March 26 that when Miroslav Kalousek became chairman of KDU-ČSL, he wanted to do a deal with ČSSD about privatization and other issues. According to Gross, Kalousek told him and Finance Minister Bohuslav Sobotka that, "the more crimes we commit together, the stronger our alliance will be." Even if he was exaggerating, Gross noted, this says something about Kalousek's approach to politics. Indeed it does, and from this purely commercial standpoint, Kalousek can be considered a winner of the coalition crisis. He's getting rid of Gross, a rival in the dealmaking process, and he's getting Jiří Paroubek, who has proven himself able to do business with anyone, esp. ODS. It will be interesting to watch how the remaining big deals - armored personnel carriers, e-tolls and Lesy ČR, to name a few - turn out under Premier Paroubek. [Czech Republic corruption ČSSD prime minister]