Spidla's time

A fish stinks from the head down, so ODS cut off the head and hoped people would stop noticing the pervasive stench. It was enough to save the party in the May elections. ČSSD, in contrast, severed its head only after a megaflop in the elections and, instead of offering a sweet-smelling replacement, it launched a battle over the degree to which foul sharks like M. Jansta, R. Pokorný, J. Soukup and J. Tvrdík will rule the waters through Michal Hašek and Bohuslav Sobotka. Neither of these two candidates for titular chair (Jansta is considered the real chairman) is "clean" like Petr Nečas, and neither has a vision about where the party should go. ČSSD's real visionary is Vladimír Špidla, who wants the party to end its isolation and to unite all the political movements on the left. If ČSSD doesn't do so well in the fall elections, some members will finally notice that their natural leader is staring them right in the face. [Czech Republic Miroslav Radek Jaromír Jaroslav]