Wednesday, December 20, 2000

Politics has another 'school for scandal' year Public respect plummets further as 'dirty tricks' undermine officials By Brian Hannon Paybacks, payoffs, a smear campaign that stretched to the prime minister's office. Say this about the year's political soap opera: it was never dull. But if the hint of scandal amused journalists and political junkies, the public was far less entertained. Nearly 80 percent of those who answered a recent Sofres-Factum poll said they were unhappy with the political status quo. And most expected it to get worse. Some officials are beginning to take notice. "Many people are losing trust in politics as an ethical form of solving the people's relations and problems," said Ladislav Spacek, the spokesman for President Vaclav Havel. But Czechs can be finicky. The poll found widespread disenchantment: over the economy, personal relations and living standards. This general pessimism -- bordering on outright cynicism -- may have been reflected in November's Senate and regional elections when hardly anyone showed up. Only a third of the 2.7 million registered voters cast ballots in the first round Nov. 12. A mere 15 percent took part in second-round voting a week later. Hana Marvanova of the Freedom Union party thinks the low turnout wasn't casual. "The [election] results not only showed whether people want or do not want the Senate or regional representatives, but also showed their disgust," she said. "When I had meetings with people during the election campaign the prevailing opinion was that nothing can be changed, that politicians only make promises but actually are not doing much to keep them." Eva Dundackova a Deputy for the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), which governs the country in an opposition deal with the Social Democrats, suggested the low turnout reflected "distrust in the government." But she said politicians could be scapegoats. "Political ethics are nothing other than the reflection of the society," she said. "[But the] ethics of politicians in the Czech Republic are evaluated as far worse than they actually are, or deserve to be." Circus politics Czechs have recent precedents for mistrusting politicians. Former ODS finance chief Libor Novak was acquitted in June of tax evasion related to a 1995 gift of 170,000 Kc ($4,339) from former tennis player Milan Srejber. Early in December, Prime Minister Milos Zeman brushed off alleged links between his ruling Social Democrats (CSSD) and H-System, a construction company that defaulted on building homes. It collapsed in 1997. Czech media reported that Zeman's party had strong ties to the firm and said that parliamentary debate on the subject decayed rapidly into recrimination, with politicians trading barbs about their respective party scandals. Zeman was besieged. His name came up prominently in a smear campaign -- known as Operation Lead -- against a leading member of his own party, Petra Buzkova. A report allegedly drafted by Zeman's inner circle depicted her as a communist and questioned her sexual past. Although Zeman dismissed an aide to calm the waters, it is still not clear who was behind the campaign. "People do not have high opinions about politics in the Czech Republic," said CSSD Deputy Chairwoman Jitka Kupcova. Still, she stood behind her party. "I do not think the distrust of people is caused by the scandals of last year, it is caused by the activities of the last few years. According to opinion polls, trust in the government increased compared to previous years." Havel spokesman Spacek is skeptical about whether politicians even understand their role. Nor does the public. "Politics is a public service. It is a sacrifice for the public," he said. "But ask people about it and only a few of them would answer by this definition." Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA) Chairman Daniel Kroupa agreed. The ODA is a member of the popular four-party, center-right coalition. "People think that parties have very selfish interests, in politics as well as in business," he said. Some efforts are being made to limit the mischief. On Dec. 12, Parliament elected the country's first ombudsman, former Justice Minister Otakar Motejl. He will serve as a citizens' advocate against government wrongdoing. Cleaning up The Clean Hands anti-corruption campaign was created by CSSD to investigate the widespread practice of "tunneling" -- or graft -- in Czech banks and industry. But the effort began weakly and is widely considered a failure. Regardless of results, Spacek says any anti-corruption efforts are helpful. "The Clean Hands campaign turned the eyes of politicians and the public toward severe economic crime, which is the thing that tremendously irritates the public," he said. ODA's Kroupa disagreed, calling Clean Hands "an attempt to throw sand into the eyes of the public" and cover up big party scandals. Central Europe Review Editor-in-Chief Andrew Stroehlein took a more novel view, suggesting that Czech respect for politics did not drop this year because "it couldn't get any lower." "The scandals and exposed dirty deals of the past year have only confirmed what most Czechs have known for many years," he said. "In the public's mind these events are simply par for the course and fulfill their expectations ... that the Czech political class in general is more interested in its own machinations than in serving the needs of the country." Stroehlein doubts Czechs consider morality a political player. "People believe in standards of ethics in the personal sphere, but no one expects ethical behavior in the sphere of party politics," he said. -- With Petra Cermakova Brian Hannon's e-mail address is bhannon@praguepost.cz

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