Topolanek's falling star

ODS Chairman Mirek Topolánek is becoming the media's new punching bag. What will ODS do if he continues to drag the party down? ODS's first vice chair, Petr Nečas, categorically ruled out the possibility that Topolánek could be replaced this year as chairman. True, getting rid of him before the elections could be cataclysmic. One possibility, though, is that ODS will let Jiří Paroubek of ČSSD do the dirty work for it. If ODS wins the elections with a less-than-impressive margin, Paroubek could simply refuse the expected offer of a grand coalition from Topolánek. Given the choice of forming a cabinet with the Communists or finding a more suitable candidate for premier, ODS could be forced to come up with a new name. But first it would have to find one. Overall, ODS has the strongest team in Czech politics, but it's still missing a clear successor to Václav Klaus. [Czech Republic Communist Party President parliamentary general 2006]