Wednesday, June 20, 2001

Zeman takes aim at Klaus in pre-election maneuver Prime minister says EU would not accept ODS-run Prague By Michael Mainville Prime Minister Milos Zeman isn't known for his tact, especially when it comes to his adversaries. But his recent comments about Civic Democratic Party (ODS) Chairman Vaclav Klaus caught even longtime observers by surprise. In a June 11 interview with the BBC, Zeman said that European Union enlargement commissioner Gunter Verheugen had told him in a private conversation that "if Vaclav Klaus becomes the head of the Czech government, the Czech Republic will not become a member of the European Union." Klaus, a former prime minister, has said it is inevitable that the Czech Republic will join the EU, but he has also warned against making too many concessions in entry negotiations. Opponents have depicted his stance as openly anti-European. Prague is hoping to join the 15-nation group by 2004, when it will expand. Verheugen would neither confirm nor deny Zeman's statement, telling Czech Radio: "I would never say something like that publicly." Klaus, in turn, has demanded Zeman prove that the statement was actually made. Although he has resigned as party leader, Zeman's Social Democratic Party (CSSD) is set to face off with the ODS in the 2002 national elections, in which the question of EU membership is expected to play a key role. The two parties are currently allied in an "opposition agreement," which allows the center-left CSSD to run a minority government with the support of the right-wing ODS. For many, there's little doubt Zeman's move was an attempt -- some say a clumsy one -- to discredit Klaus ahead of next year's elections. "Milos Zeman has proved once again that his political culture is very low," said Rudolf Kucera, a political scientist at Charles University. "On the one hand, Zeman's government is dependent on its agreement with the ODS, and at the same time, he is trying to damage his partner." Zeman's comments came as the ODS, the dominant member in government coalitions from 1992 to 1997, enjoys a resurgence in public-opinion polls. Thanks to squabbling within the Quad Coalition of center-right parties, the ODS has ranked first in a public-opinion poll for the first time since last autumn. And both analysts and political insiders say that unless the Quads can unite in the next few months, Klaus' party could again be in government come next year. The poll, released by the Sofres-Factum agency earlier this month, indicated the ODS would have obtained 28.5 percent of the vote in a late May election, the Quad Coalition 24.2 percent, the CSSD 23.7 percent and the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM) 16.1 percent. Other recent polls, while less dramatic, have also indicated a drop in support for the Quad Coalition, a grouping of two major parties, the Freedom Union (US) and the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL), and two minor ones, the Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA) and the Democratic Union (DEU). Until recently, the coalition had topped the polls by as much as 10 percent. But recent disputes among coalition members have eroded that support. Party leaders were unable to agree on a Quad leader when they met in January. Christian Democrat Cyril Svoboda was a compromise choice, but he resigned two months later over the composition of the coalition's shadow cabinet. Then, in late May, Svoboda returned to prominence by defeating Jan Kasal for the Christian Democratic leadership. He has promised to re-examine the shadow cabinet issue. The Civic Democratic Party Leader: Vaclav Klaus Seats: 63 in the 200-member Chamber of Deputies, 21 in the 81-member Senate. History: founded in April 1991 as a right-wing conservative party. 1992-97: Dominating partner in government coalitions led by Klaus. 1997-98: Coalition collapses following allegations of corruption involving ODS party finances; key members resign to form the Freedom Union. 1998-present: ODS enters a controversial "opposition agreement" with the Social Democratic Party (CSSD). It allows the CSSD to govern with ODS support in exchange for a key role in Parliament and policy concessions. These disagreements have hurt the Quads' attempts to portray themselves as above the personality conflicts that often mar Czech politics. "The great expectations of the Quad Coalition have not been fulfilled," said Charles University political analyst Bohumil Dolezal. "And people who turn away from the Quad Coalition don't go the CSSD, but back to the ODS." Even Quad leader Karel Kuhnl, who replaced Svoboda in March, admitted the coalition has been damaging itself. "Our coalition has recently been presenting itself to the public mostly through personal problems and not with our program," Kuhnl said. "We have to stop arguing about positions and get back to work preparing for the election." For the ODS, the Quads' backslide is proof they were always just a blip on the political radar. "The coalition came out as something new and as time goes on they are showing more and more that they are still the same parties as they were before -- spending all of their time fighting each other," ODS Deputy Chairman Ivan Langer said. "The ODS is a quiet power. We don't have any internal battles and we say the same things we always have." -- Yekaterina Zapletnyuka contributed to this report. Michael Mainville's e-mail address is mmainville@praguepost.cz