The commies are coming

Vladimír Špidla is on the verge of forcing US-DEU out of his cabinet because one of its MPs, Hana Marvanová, failed to vote for his tax changes on Fri. He'll now look for another way to raise taxes. It's not yet clear if Špidla will let any US ministers remain, but it's possible that "socialist" Vladimír Mlynář will be the only right-wing politician left in the government. Or, the end result of the crisis could be a cabinet that is tolerated by the Communists but that isn't officially appointed by President Václav Havel or Parliament. Both Jakub Železný of Czech TV and Martin Zvěřina of Lidové noviny hinted that Špidla might have had this planned in advance. Two months ago, neither KDU Chair Cyril Svoboda nor Havel wanted a Communist-backed cabinet. Špidla and Svoboda have now perhaps found a tricky way to let the Communists in the back door.