Czech press survey - March 27

Even before Topolanek's ODS-led government lost a no confidence vote in parliament on Tuesday, the senior ruling ODS faced the threat of splitting, Lukas Bek writes in the paper.

Topolanek and his people are opposed not only by Bem, but also a number of lawmakers and regional politicians. Unfortunately, this stream is far from united and having a single leader, Bek writes.

Many in the ODS resent the junior ruling Greens' ideas or the Lisbon treaty, many simply like Klaus, the ODS's founding-father.

Others reproach Topolanek's government for not helping the business circles they are close to, Bek writes.

When Bem challenged Topolanek at the ODS congress in December, he and his allies wrongly estimated his chance and they offered no alternative to Topolanek's rule, Bek writes.

Now that Klaus has set support of a majority of deputies as a condition for a pretender to be named prime minister, Bem is right to suggest that the chance be given to Topolanek. If he spoke otherwise, the ODS might consider him traitor.

Now he can wait for a more favourable moment, until after Topolanek fails to be appointed a new prime minister by Klaus, Bek writes.

In solving the government crisis, President Vaclav Klaus should first try to bring parties' to agreement on the date of early elections, September or October if possible, and afterwards an agreement on an interim government should be struck, Robert Casensky writes in Mlada fronta Dnes.

It is not advisable that the outgoing government continue ruling as this would not benefit its reputation either abroad or in the eyes of voters, Casensky writes.

The most suitable alternative is probably a minority government of the ODS, tolerated by the Social Democrats (CSSD), he says.

Such government could have only a very simple programme, containing some eight to ten basic anti-crisis steps on which the two parties can agree as they would require a bearable compromise, Casensky writes.

President Vaclav Klaus's latest statements indicate that he is eyeing the worst possible alternative - a government of unaffiliated experts, headed by a favourite of his, which would be able to rule even without parliament's confidence, Jiri Leschtina writes in Hospodarske noviny.

Is the ODS strong enough to stop Klaus? Leschtina asks.

When Klaus set support of 101 deputies as a condition for candidates for new prime minister, he somehow forgot to add the adjective "non-communist" deputies, Leschtina writes.

On the other hand, he ruled out a government based on support of deputies defecting from the parties' they had been elected for. In doing so, he admitted the emergence of a grand coalition of the ODS and the CSSD or an alliance of the CSSD, the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) and the Communists (KSCM).

He seems to expect the former alternative to fall through due to irreconcilable animosity between the ODS and CSSD leaders, and the latter due to the KDU-CSL's refusal to ally with the KSCM, Leschtina writes.

If so, Klaus could announce with regret that politicians failed to reach agreement, and therefore he is forced to appoint a cabinet of experts, Leschtina continues.

Klaus can shorten this phase to a few days. He has his planned favourite cabinet definitely completed. In a few weeks, the puppet cabinet (in fact Klaus) might stand at the EU head, Leschtina writes, alluding to the ongoing Czech EU presidency.

CSSD leader Jiri Paroubek may agree with Klaus's planned cabinet of experts at which he could spectacularly lash out.

Maybe he and Klaus have already agreed on it. However, is Paroubek sure that the CSSD voters will welcome it if the Topolanek government's fall resulted in the Preisdential Office becoming a temporary unpredictable centre of power? Leschtina asks.

Only Paroubek along with Topolanek could prevent this. They should strike a ceasefire rather than to allow Klaus to prevail over both of them, Leschtina writes.

Author: ČTK
www.ctk.cz