Kolar writes that Schwarzenberg, who initiated the audit, must now be scared of his promise that he would not sit with Cunek, chairman of the junior ruling Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL), in the cabinet if his financial situation were not clarified. Schwarzenberg really prides himself on keeping his promises.
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Roithova to lead Czech KDU-CSL candidates in EP election ... However, he faces two contradictory loyalty feelings. First, he should be loyal towards the citizens to whom he promised he would resign if the audit results were negative for Cunek, which speculations behind the scenes indicate, Kolar says. On the other hand, Schwarzenberg's resignation would challenge another commitment of his. He namely promised to push through the ratification of the treaty on the U.S. radar base on Czech soil in parliament during the visit by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Prague on Tuesday when she signed the bilateral treaty. Yet Schwarzenberg also said the time to persuade the legislators would come only after the summer recess in about one and a half month, Kolar adds. "By then, Schwarzenberg can hardly claim that he has not yet read the results of Cunek's audit. Maybe he will have no other chance but persuading deputies not from the position of a minister, but a rank-and-file senator," Kolar concludes in LN. Czech politicians should rather focus on more useful issues for the public than dealing with their personal disputes, Robert Casensky writes in Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) today. He recalls that the three major cases that currently dominate the political scene, the extraordinary congress of the junior ruling Greens (SZ) and conflicts in this party, the audit of Deputy PM Jiri Cunek's finances and the opposition Social Democrat (CSSD) leader Jiri Paroubek's compliant against deputy Pet Wolf over slander, are marginal for voters from whose pockets the politicians are generously paid. Consequently, citizens rightfully expect politicians to work for the benefit of "their employers," the public, Casensky writes. If the politicians had a "normal job," their employer would sack them immediately if they instead for doing the work they were paid for were discussing whether "Jirka [Paroubek] has beaten up Petr [Wolf] or "whether Karel [Schwarzenberg] is right thinking that Jirka [Cunek] is sort of a thief" during working hours, Casensky writes ironically. Though voters cannot simply fire their "disobedient employees" with "low work productivity" and "a high level of egotism," they should at least raise there voice against politicians, Casensky writes. The senior ruling Civic Democrats (ODS) and President Vaclav Klaus have shown enormous hypocrisy in their approach to the Lisbon treaty, Jiri Hanak writes in Pravo today. He recalls that Klaus recently said he would sign the bilateral treaty on the U.S radar base on Czech soil since the Czech Republic should "stand on both legs" not only on the European one. Nevertheless, Hanak adds, it was Klaus and his followers in the ODS, which he chaired for years, who did the utmost to make "the European leg" weak so the EU is currently and economic, but not political power. The Lisbon treaty is exactly an attempt to cure this "illness" by the Union's deeper political integration. The ODS, on its part, has sent the EU reform treaty to the Constitutional Court that is to assess its compatibility with Czech law. The most recently, ODS chairman and Prime Minister Mirek Topalanek got an idea that ODS legislators would support the Lisbon treaty if the opposition Social Democrats (CSSD) helped them push through the U.S. radar in parliament. This is really "a disgusting offer" as it is extremely hypocritical, Hanak writes. Either the Lisbon treaty means "disaster" for the Czech Republic, according to the Civic Democrats, and consequently it cannot be a subject of a political deal or ODS legislators are well aware that it is a necessary and logical step and their resistance to the document is just egoistic, Hanak notes. "Maybe even Vaclav Klaus would have a different view of the Lisbon treaty if he were offered the post of EU president, Hanak writes in Pravo.
(Ceske Noviny)
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