Zelezny: A poor winner

Vladimír Železný and his NEZ independents were among the big winners in the EU elections, but in repeated interviews since the elections, Železný has attacked the other main independents, SNK-ED. Železný has shown that he knows how to win, but not how to win gracefully. His primary accusation is that SNK-ED, headed by Josef Zieleniec and Jan Kasl, spent Kč 70-80m on the campaign, not the Kč 7-8m it claims. He argued in Lidové noviny that SNK-ED is secretly backed by some kind of U.S. foundation. (Kasl flatly denied this.) When Železný appeared on Czech TV on Sun., he lost his cool and displayed the same kind of rabid hate that he has heretofore reserved for CME and PPF. Why? Železný compared himself on Czech Radio to Schwarzenegger and Reagan and admits to having lofty political goals. He seems to think SNK-ED is standing in his way. Arnold Ronald