Two parties on the edge

Parliamentary elections, whether early or not, are on the horizon, and the opinion polls show that KDU-ČSL and the Green Party both risk losing their representation in the lower house. The reasons for this are remarkably similar in each case. It's more than just the usual inner-party pettinesses. The two key figures in the parties, Miroslav Kalousek of KDU-ČSL and Martin Bursík of the Greens, appear increasingly willing, and at times even eager, to let their parties go down. Ex-Green MP Olga Zubová got to the crux of the matter. A party built on cronyism can't stay on top for long, she told Právo. MP Michaela Šojdrová of KDU was a bit more oblique and said that Kalousek needs to do a better job of representing the interests of his party's base. Translated into straight talk this means that Kalousek and Bursík are more devoted to special interests than to their own parties' well-being. If the parties shrivel and die as a result, so be it. Kalousek and Bursík can always start flogging their wares within ODS. [Czech Republic Christian Democrats]