Final Word from Thursday, January 16, 2003
Parliament failed to elect a president yesterday, leaving winners and losers. The biggest losers were Petr Pithart, who took defeat hard; Jaroslav Bureš, who never had a chance; Vladimír Špidla, who utterly failed to influence the outcome; and the pro-Pithart media, which were cut down a notch by the humiliation of their favorite. The victors were Václav Klaus, who gave the best speech, won the most votes, and gained momentum for the next encounter; Miloš Zeman, who could be heard chuckling all the way from his cottage; and Václav Havel, who won unheard-of praise from Klaus, and whose image of being irreplaceable grew stronger. But the biggest winner, one reader told us, was Coca-Cola, whose BonAqua bottled water got prominent placement on the podium during the live telecast. Couldn't anyone at the Castle find a nice cut-glass carafe, the reader wondered?