Final Word from Thursday, August 22, 2002
The monotony of the flood was broken this week by news that CEO Vladimír Železný of TV Nova plans to run for the Senate this fall for the Independent Movement. The two main trains of thought on this are: Železný is looking for an elegant way to exit from Nova, or he wants the immunity from prosecution accorded to Czech lawmakers. Or both. An interesting angle not often mentioned is how Železný plans to pay his Kč 20,000 election deposit and his campaign costs. Železný owes $20m to CME and perhaps millions more in back taxes. A court might find that any money Železný has for a Senate candidacy rightfully belongs to his creditors. Neither Železný nor CME wanted to comment on this yesterday, but lawyers on both sides are surely looking into the issue. Gracefully leaving TV Nova might not be so easy for Železný.