The arrest of Social Democrat power broker David Rath has thrown his party into disarray, as he was arrested by police carrying a box containing CZK 7m in cash. He’s to be charged with corruption, barely two weeks since he lambasted the current prime minister Petr Necas for losing the battle with endemic backhanders in Czech political life. “You’ve totally discredited the term “fighting corruption”, he said on the floor of Parliament. “Today, when a politician uses the words ‘fighting corruption’ it’s a joke.” Rath’s attempt to explain what he was doing with nearly €275,000 in bills isn’t gaining much traction. He claims to have accepted the box as a gift, as he believed it was filled with bottles of wine. The arrest is thought to have been made on the basis of months of undercover operations, wiretaps and eavesdropping, and will be further damaging as it’s alleged to have been connected with an EU tender for funds to reconstruct a local castle. The head of the local contractor Konstruktiva Branko is also thought to have been arrested.
