It all depends on Klaus

The toppled Czech prime minister and current EU Council President Mirek Topolánek has for the first time openly accused Czech President Václav Klaus of pulling the strings behind the government crisis. The business daily Hospodářské Noviny writes that Klaus must also solve the crisis: "In times of crisis - as so often in Czech history - everything depends on the president. Under normal circumstances a no confidence vote is a routine occurrence. However the current circumstances are far from normal. The Czech Republic is at the helm of the EU in the midst of a dire crisis, and the country's reputation is at stake. A president of stature, such as Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk oder Václav Havel, would defuse the situation with a few words: 'I am not appointing a new prime minister for the duration of the EU presidency.' ... How Klaus will act is a mystery to everyone but himself. But perhaps he should remember May 1997. When the country was headed for a monetary crisis, President Havel gave his full support to Klaus, who was prime minister at the time. And that even though Klaus was anything but Havel's idea of the ideal leader."

» full article (external link, Czech)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Czech Republic
All available articles from » Tomáš Němeček

» To the complete press review of Thursday, March 26, 2009