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The
Civic Democrats were in a nasty mood as they gathered in the Moravian resort town of Luhačovice
for their annual party congress. They had lost the battle
over public finance reform only to learn that the government
later rewrote one of the laws after it was passed. A
clerical error had changed the intended "is" to an "isn't" in the bill, thereby giving it an entirely different meaning and proving once
and for all that members of parliament don't really know
what it is (or isn't) they're voting on. The government
took it upon itself to correct the bill without resubmitting
it to a vote. The Civic Democrats responded by threatening
to take the issue to the Supreme Court, but not before
using their congress as a platform for hurling insults
at the government. The cabinet was a gang of thieves,
they said, led by a premier who was a "liar, swindler and paranoid autistic case." The paranoia swipe was a reference to a listening device supposedly found in
the car of an MP who had run afoul of the premier. Talk
about paranoia - when the police offered to sweep the
cars of other MPs for bugs, they were rebuffed for fear
they would plant more devices instead. Among those in
the audience listening to the diatribes was Miroslav
Kalousek, the newly elected chairman of the Christian
Democrats and the only major party leader invited to
the congress. His party is a member of the ruling coalition,
meaning some of those alleged thieves are his own, but
he limited his remarks to saying how the Christians look
forward to the best possible relationship with the Civics.
He was given a rapturous applause, and then all the misgivings set in. Although both parties are ideologically closer to each
other than to the Social Democrats, Kalousek is a "genetically coded" arch-Christian Democrat who looks for only the best possible deal for himself
and his people. But thank you for coming anyway. The
Civic Democrats weren't content to limit their insults
to their congress or politics for that matter. Vlastimil
Tlustý, their parliamentary club leader, expressed his
disappointment to learn that Education Minister Petra
Buzková had undergone breast reduction surgery. She lost
her two biggest endowments, he snorted. A few colleagues
from other parties joined him in making similar crass
observations and together they formed the basis of a
television report about vulgarity among members of parliament.
Culture Minister Pavel Dostál didn't like that idea at
all and personally asked the station manager to quash the report. Too undignified for television, he said. Health Minister
Marie Součková was also feeling indignant over finishing
a miserable sixth place in her senate primary race. She
was quick to take her loss out on a subordinate, the
one who generated a lot of negative publicity with a
plan to restrict the sale of condoms to certified vendors.
No more buying them at newsstands and checkout counters.
There has, in fact, been a law on the books ordering
such a restriction, but practically nobody, least of
all Součková, was aware of it. The surplus of indignities
spread even to the Castle, which saw Parliament reject
its request for 25 million crowns to repair various monuments.
President Klaus had just stood before the MPs and chastised them for spending so much money. So they decided to show
him it wasn't true. This coming when the Senate will
have to
add another wasteful expenditure to its budget. Independent
Vladimír Železný, the ousted station manager of TV Nova,
has joined forces with the Senate's three Communist members
to form an official club. It will have no real power,
but the Communists get another measure of legitimacy
and Železný gets the use of a car, office and expense
account. The Communists are now rejoicing that they are
the second most popular party in the country according
to opinion polls. Klaus blamed the ruling Social Democrats
for their comeback without bothering to mention the open
invitation he extended to Communist leaders for presidential roundtables. But just when the Communists think they
have been rehabilitated, along comes a certain Ludvík
Zifčák, leader of the decrepit
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, calling for nationalization
and servility of the press again. The Communists fear
nothing more today than people like him going around
talking like real Communists. At least there's one group
that has little to fear from one another these days.
In an incredible display of team spirit, district court
judge Martin Šalamoun ruled in favor of three judges,
his colleagues from the same court, who were suing the
state over back pay. Three weeks later his colleagues
heard his case for back pay and returned the favor. The
court, which is prescribed by law to represent the state in such matters, didn't see a conflict
of interest because they were obviously open and shut
cases.
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