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The politics of opportunism By Christopher Lord Freedom Union's Ruml throws principle to the wind to seek coalition with ODS' Klaus The negotiations between Jan Ruml, head of the Freedom Union (US) and Vaclav Klaus, head of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), former prime minister and a man who must excite a certain degree of curiosity -- and perhaps of pity, too, as the last surviving apostle of Thatcherism in the world -- represent another nail in the coffin of Czech democracy. They have been discussing the possibilities of some kind of coalition. For those who remember events surrounding the collapse of the Klaus government in November 1997, there is no possible explanation for these discussions than the collapse of any pretense at morality. For it was Ruml himself who originally put the kibosh on Klaus by declaring that he would no longer go along with the corruption and cronyism that had built up around the ODS. It was also Ruml who went on television in the famous "Sarajevo putsch" (while Klaus was visiting Bosnia) to announce that the game was up. The government fell, the ODS all but collapsed, and Ruml with much fanfare started his new Freedom Union, which was supposed to demonstrate that it was still possible to keep the dissident flame alight and have a political party based on some kind of moral principles. But today, Ruml can be spotted in newspapers and on television back with Klaus, sharing a glass of beer, and apparently discussing how they can go into business together. That is not all. Remember that the ODS -- despite having been accused of having a secret Swiss bank account, apparently existing solely for the purpose of collecting bribes from businessmen -- miraculously still managed to survive. This was due almost entirely to the presence of Klaus at the head of the party. His absurd and anachronistic economic policies, which have self-evidently brought the country to the brink of ruin, are not enough to extinguish the glow of nationalistic loyalty that still flares up in the hearts of the deluded masses whenever the TV lights glint off the glasses of the man who promised them all that coupon privatization would make them rich. Did Klaus have any other policies, though? Oh yes. Last time around, he told voters (in a series of alarmist election posters marked importantly Special Edition!) that if they didn't vote for him, "the Left" would get in. Well, the Left did get in -- as far as the solidly bourgeois Social Democrats (CSSD) can be called the Left. And to the amazement of many, one of Klaus' first acts was to do a deal with them, effectively promising he wouldn't sabotage their policies if they still let him act as if he was in charge of everything. And thus it came to pass. All the lucky voters, who had heeded Klaus' message and feared the Left's coming to power, saw their hero using his political party exclusively to support a left-wing government. So after the "opposition agreement" did any true opposition exist -- apart that is from the loony old-guard Communists (KSCM)? But of course; now there was the US party, with the gallant figure of Jan Ruml, former dissident jailbird, former minister of the interior, and general bastion of honesty and morality at its head. And now we see that night must surely follow day, and that the heart that beats in the heart of Europe is beating out its own characteristic rhythm as usual. Klaus was elected to keep Zeman out. He naturally does a deal with Zeman to stitch up the opposition. Ruml was elected to keep Klaus out, and so it is only good and natural and right and proper that in the fullness of time he should do a deal with Klaus to stitch up Zeman. This, after all, is what democracy is about. The result is checkmate as far as the interests of the voter are concerned. If the candidates you vote for change their most basic political positions as soon as they glimpse the possibility that doing so might get them half an inch closer to power, it negates even the idea of a politics of principle. All that is left is a politics of clientelism, where people vote for this party or that party not on the basis of agreeing with the principles on offer, but simply because the possibilities for bribery and nepotism look better. This is exactly what has happened in any number of countries around the world already, and the signs are that this is exactly what is happening here too. Indeed, anybody who at any stage voted for any of these clowns on the strength of personal conviction must be left feeling pretty stupid. -- The writer is managing editor of Perspectives, the journal of the Institute of International Relations. His latest book, Politika, has been published under the Karolinum imprint of Charles University |
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The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.