The Czech parliamentary elections are barely over, and attention is shifting to the upcoming poll (Jan. 26-27) that will determine the country’s next president. The new government hasn’t even been formed, but and ex-prime minister for the ODS party Mirek Topolánek, just announced his candidature on Tuesday. Topolánek describes his decision as an impulsive one, but there does appear to be a certain logic to it. Put bluntly, besides the incumbent, there are no other political heavyweights (past or present) in the race.
The current ODS chairman, Petr Fiala, however believes that Topolánek is a high quality candidate with political success and experience, whose will be a force to be reckoned with. Whereas most candidates gather 50,000 signatures to gain a place on the ballot, Topolánek is taking the more unusual path of collecting the support of senators from five different parties. Besides the ailing president Miloš Zeman, the two other candidates are Jiří Drahoš and the writer Michal Horáček. Drahoš wasted little time throwing down the gauntlet, calling Topolanek’s bid for the presidency “a joke” and labelling him the most corrupt Czech prime minister ever. With the cast apparently now complete, the second act of the Czech political shake-up is set to begin.
