Europe gave out an extended sigh of relief when the presidential elections in France turned out badly for anti-EU, right wing nationalists. But the drama on Europe’s western border diverted eyes from the high stakes political theater now playing out in Prague. Make no mistake, however. Once the media quit feasting on the spectacle of a young French president and his sophisticated, older wife, foreign editors will start looking around for new shenanigans to poke fun at. And they no need to look further than the Czech president publicly accepting the dissolution of a government that never resigned.
That was the grotesque scene that played out last week, when Czech premier Bohuslav Sobotka organized a consultation with Czech president Milos Zeman to discuss the president’s views on the deepening government crisis. But when the two men faced journalists at Prague Castle, the president said he accepted the dissolution of Sobotka’s government. Sobotka shot back that the government had not actually resigned and that he’d only come for consultations. At that point, while Prime minister Sobotka was still speaking, President Zeman literally walked out the door, casting aspersions and waving his cane as he went. It would be hilarious — if only the country’s reputation for political stability and careful, sober management weren’t at stake.
Over the weekend, as nerves frayed in France, the Czech political machine went to work. The third in a series of damaging, secret recordings was posted on the Internet. It appears to document a discussion between the Czech Finance Minister Andrej Babiš and a reporter at a newspaper Babiš owns. In this most recent recording, the finance minister seems to discuss with the reporter how best to (ab)use secret information collected by Czech police against his political opponents.
The details are tawdry and complex, but the current government crisis boils down to long-standing, but deepening suspicions over the activities of the Finance Minister who is not only the country’s most popular and powerful politician, but one of its richest and most controversial business moguls. Prime minister Sobotka has finally found the nerve to declare that the finance minister has to go. It’s difficult to see how the finance minister can survive this latest mess, even though President Zeman has evolved into a major political ally. Just as fascinating will be to watch who Babiš drags down with him (assuming the whole affair isn’t swept under the rug).
