Prague city hall goes national

When Jan Kasl, ex-Prague mayor and chair of the European Democrats, told Czech TV in Feb. that city politicians support the idea of hosting the Summer Olympics in 2016 or 2020 because of the construction-bribe opportunities, his comments met with resounding silence. No one responded, not the media, not the incriminated politicians. If anything, Kasl's words led to a further ostracization of pesky little parties like ED that are trying to stir up Czech politics. ČSSD, for reasons clear to Kasl, gets along very well with ODS at Prague city hall and has now brought in Jiří Paroubek to run the country. As deputy Prague mayor, he was a master at keeping the right people happy and the wrong people quiet. Let's give Paroubek a chance, but it'd be a sad day in paradise if the politics of Prague city hall were elevated under the new premier to the national level. [Czech Republic Television chairman]