Why Kalousek?

As expected, Václav Klaus said that he'd like Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek to remain in the government. After a few days on good behavior, Klaus is back at his old tricks. Plan A is to scupper the agreement between Mirek Topolánek and Jiří Paroubek by interfering in the formation of the new government. Klaus still wants to appoint his own Castle cabinet and might have an unfulfilled debt toward Miloš Zeman in this respect. Klaus presumably wants his handpicked regent to rule until the regularly scheduled elections next year. Plan B is for Klaus to have his own man (or two, if you count Martin Pecina) inside the interim government of Jan Fischer if Plan A fails. Kalousek would be there to make sure certain privatization decisions went the right way. Klaus is still working hard at Plan A, though, so anyone who has been expecting early parliamentary elections in Oct. should start hedging his bets. [Czech Republic technocratic presidential caretaker]