Final Word from Monday, August 25, 2025

One of the great conundrums of the bitcoin affair of ODS is whether Pavel Blažek, Zbyněk Stanjura, Petr Fiala and Fiala's credit-union advisers really thought they could get away with laundering the proceeds of a darknet narco-marketplace. Why did they risk their reputations, Spolu's election standing and even their freedom? Was it simply too much to resist? Whatever the answer, the scandal is a godsend for the Pirates, who are using Bitcoingate and Dosimeter to climb back. PPF, which the Pirates say has already used Eva Decroix to water down a lobbying law, is now giving the Pirates another weapon against ODS, and esp. Stanjura. PPF is buying back the 10% of the company owned by Petr Kellner Jr., and MP Jakub Michálek of the Pirates says the transaction will be tax-free if a bill from Stanjura passes in Sept. "The law will definitely be written to apply to the deal," Michálek told Czech TV on Fri. He says it will save PPF Kč 3bn. Does ODS really think it can get away with this, or is it simply too much to resist? [ Czech Republic PDZ Nucleus Television Justice Min. minister MP ]