Sobotka's power play

There's been speculation on and off for the past month that Finance Minister Bohuslav Sobotka is maneuvering to squeeze out Stanislav Gross as prime minister. One theory goes as far as to suggest that Sobotka's people helped stoke the political crisis that has nearly cost Gross his position. Early in the crisis, TV Nova mentioned Sobotka as a possible replacement for Gross, which (intentionally or otherwise) immediately marked Sobotka as someone to eliminate. Attacks of insufficient loyalty to Gross soon followed. Sobotka capitulated yesterday, when he stood by Gross in two newspaper interviews (Právo and MF Dnes). Only hours later, Gross announced that he'll seek a confidence vote from his party on Sat. With Sobotka stifled, Gross is almost guaranteed to get strong party support. If Sobotka was indeed making a power play, it backfired. [Czech Republic MFD premier]