Týden: Klaus is part of someone else's agenda

Prague, Oct 1 (CTK) - Czech President Vaclav Klaus does not want to protect people from bad legislation when he crushes one bill after another with vetoes, but he is working for his own project while he himself is someone's project in the system of Godfathers, Martin Fendrych writes in weekly Tyden out yesterday.

Klaus has vetoed amendments to the penal code, a bill on misdemeanours, on energy labels for houses, child protection and eventually the pension reform, Fendrych writes.

Klaus, founder of the ODS in 1991 that he left in late 2008 over disagreement with its then leader and prime minister Mirek Topolanek, advances adroitly, Fendrych writes.

He says Klaus is bombarding Prime Minister Petr Necas, Civic Democrat (ODS) chairman, via Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek's proposals, via TOP 09 of which Kalousek is deputy chairman.

First, Klaus's people in the ODS rejected a package of changes to taxes, including higher VAT, with which Necas and Kalousek wanted to bring more money ot the state budget, and now Klaus has attacked the pension reform with his veto.

To try to destroy Necas via Kalousek is an ideal tactic. Klaus knows well how much the ODS leaders were annoyed to see Necas giving up the Finance Ministry as well as the Labour and Social Affairs Ministry to TOP 09 after the mid-2010 general election, Fendrych writes.

Kalousek is more able than Necas, but Klaus will not say: "I mind Kalousek," but he uses a bypass. He attacks higher VAT rates and the second pillar of the pension reform. He cunningly uses things to which the ODS is most sensitive, Fendrych writes.

If the ODS suffers a crushing defeat in the mid-October regional elections, Necas need not be re-elected party chairman, Fendrych writes.

He says the name of Industry and Trade Minister Martin Kuba (ODS) is constantly repeated in this connection.

When Necas selected Kuba as replacement for Martin Kocourek (ODS) over the unclear origin of his money, a big celebration was allegedly held in the south of Bohemia, from where Kuba comes, Fendrych writes.

The participants in the party allegedly included "the count of Hluboka" as Godfather Pavel Dlouhy is dubbed, Godfathers from north Bohemia and other dark Czech celebrities, Fendrych writes.

Last week, during his visit to New York, Klaus said he cannot imagine another than the current Czech government and that he does not want at all that it fall, Fendrych writes.

He says knowledgeable sources from the ODS say Klaus has already written Necas off and that he will fall and will be replaced precisely by Kuba.

Fendrych writes that Necas would be no big loss. He was chosen to replace Topolanek most probably because he is weak, because he will be easy to manipulate, to be influenced.

This is probably true with regard for how well Godfathers are faring irrespective of the crisis under his rule, Fendrych writes.

If Necas were not weak, he would take hard steps against Klaus now that he still has a few weeks left. He could do it seriously, without any offences, Fendrych writes.

He writes that all economists have long been stressing that the country must carry out reforms and now, the President, an economist by profession, opposes them all of a sudden. This is entirely absurd, Fendrych writes.

However, Necas has opted for the path of secret apologies and kowtowing to Klaus with his support for Russian President Vladimir Putin's steps against the Pussy Riot punk activists and support to the Chinese regime against Tibet, Fendrych writes.

If Kuba became ODS chairman or deputy chairman, if he became prime minister, this would mean not only that Godfathers control the prime minister, or that a Godfather or a person tightly connected with Godfathers himself is prime minister, Fendrych writes.

True, people would know who is who, but it would make a mockery of all that was to change in this country after the fall of the communist regime in 1989, Fendrych writes.