The battle for Brussels

The media and the public are ready to believe the worst about ex-Foreign Minister Jan Kavan, even if it's nonsense. The public has been led to believe this week that Kavan lost or destroyed original secret documents. Our sources told us, though, that the whole matter has been greatly exaggerated as a way to discredit Kavan. The documents were copies, and he caused no real damage. Kavan has done plenty in the past to discredit himself, the sources said, but not this time. Someone wants to make sure he can't return to Prague in Sept. (when his term at the U.N. expires) and take up another important post. Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda tried to leak the Kavan story to the press a month ago, we were told, but without immediate success. The best explanation we've heard is that Svoboda wants to be EU European commissioner and doesn't want Kavan to get in his way.