Is the right half of the Czech political spectrum headed for civil war? Prime Minister Petr Necas (ODS) took a rather unprecedented stand against his fellow party member Pavel Bem, the former mayor of Prague, following the release of wire taps showing his close relationship with an enormously powerful, behind-the-scenes influence peddler named Roman Janousek. It’s highly unusual for ODS members to throw other members under the political bus this way, and it will be interesting to see how president Vaclav Klaus, a former ODS member, reacts. Historically a staunch supporter of Bem, he said recently that wire taps were destroying democracy. However, Jindrich Sidlo of the daily Hospodarske noviny points out that Klaus doesn’t seem to have a problem with Bem’s relationship with Janousek. Bem says he will fight the charges to the last breath, just as he did when climbing Mount Everest.
