Turncoats

We'll probably never know for sure whether MP Olga Zubová of the Greens was truly too sick last Fri. to vote in the presidential elections, or whether her absence was an intentional way to reduce the quorum and allow Václav Klaus to win. Many analysts and journalists say it doesn't matter, because Klaus had enough votes to win anyway. But this misses the point entirely. As Communist Vice Chair Jiří Dolejš noted on Czech Radio, ODS had to have other willing turncoats lined up, in addition to Evžen Snítilý of ČSSD, just in case they were needed. The way the vote had turned out a week earlier - when the other side found some last-minute truants of its own - showed the importance of having a strong bench. Analysts and journalists who profess to being against vote-rigging should cut Green Chair Martin Bursík some slack and not blame him for wanting to get to the bottom of the Zubová issue. [Czech Republic Party MP KSČM chairman]