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Photographs, caricatures and comic strips all portraying the premier's
downfall fill the pages of the vast majority of Czech weeklies - the
message being Klaus' era is over - but he wont' go quietly. "Klaus'
refusal to accept defeat and leave is a bad blow to the ODS, Respekt
notes. If he had done so with good grace, his party would have been
able to draw a new breath, brush up its image and carry on. Instead
the premier's call for allegiance from ODS party members is splitting
the party down the middle, a process which may mark the beginning of
the end for the Civic Democratic Party, Respekt notes.
The Prague Post too carries a vast number of forecasts as regards the
future of the Premier's party . "If Klaus is re-elected the party is
going to go into slow decline" says Jonathan Stein, an analyst for the
institute of East-West studies. " Under Klaus the ODS was the backbone
of economic transition and reform . But now Klaus has shown himself
to be out of touch with society and with what the party needs to do
to survive over the long term. The time for a revolutionary party is
over. If the ODS cannot transform itself into a normal political party
it could become marginal. Jiri Pehe, President Havel's chief policy
advisor, says he believes the ODS will disintegrate without Klaus.
"It's becoming clear that the ODS has never been a liberal party or
a conservative party but a Klausist party, he told the weekly.
Commenting on the current political development Reflex notes that much
of the drama involved is due to the fact that Czechs are not yet used
to the collapse of a government or the demise of a premier - as a
normal part of the country's new-found democracy. Those of Klaus'
supporters who see his departure from Cabinet as a tragedy for the
nation -are a case in point - Reflex says - to them Klaus personifies
the whole democratic system, all the changes effected since the Velvet
revolution. To them he is not a conservative or liberal politician but
a guarantor of democracy. Those who responded to the Prague mayor's
misguided pro-Klaus demonstration appeal failed to appreciate the fact
that Czechs no longer need to defend democracy in the streets of
Prague. This affair is not about democracy this is a power struggle
within the ODS, the paper says. And further on, the author of the
article, Dan Hruby notes, "by refusing to accept defeat and bear
political responsibility Klaus himself has made a regular change of
guard impossible , which means Czechs will have to vote in early
elections. In a way that is positive, for -whatever the outcome of the
coming elections people will know that they alone decided their
future.
The doom and gloom of the past week is not exactly the best way to
start the Xmas season - but the Prague Post claims that neither the
country's political instability nor the effected austerity measures
are likely to prevent Czechs from enjoying Xmas . Currency
depreciation, a slow down in wage growth and rising unemployment all
point to a gloomy Xmas but local store officials are expecting Xmas
shopping to be heavier than ever, the paper says. Kotva's deputy
director for marketing Irena Sumova, has her own explanation for that
"It is in the Czech mentality to save money all year and spend it at
Xmas time, regardless of whether they have earned as much in previous
years" she says. Consumers will just be buying different kinds of
goods. Many have already had their fill of high-end Xmas purchases
which started when borders opened and Western goods appeared in the
stores. And many people bought electronics, washing machines,
dishwashers and leisure goods in May in anticipation of the crown
depreciation. Now Czechs will be more likely to reach for domestic
products on the shelves. In addition to the increased import costs
imported goods are no longer as exotic as they once were. Domestic
retail sales are expected to go up from 30 to 40 % of total sales
figures this Xmas.
And finally, in its culture section Respekt draws readers' attention
to Art Spiegelman's comic-book version of the Holocaust where Nazi
Germans and Jews are depicted as cats and mice. The Czech language
version which has just come out and is available in most bookstores
will almost certainly be a novelty for Czech readers -in more ways
than one- since Czechs are not used to comic books, Respekt notes. The
former regime successfully screened them off from this " lowly form
of consumer culture from the West" and it is only now that the best
known comic book series such as Tintin or Asterix and Obelix are being
translated for Czech children. Reflections on the suitability of the
Holocaust being the central theme of a comic book are misplaced, says
the author of this book-review Viktor Slajchrt. To begin with it is
a book for grown ups and it is not a comic book as we know it, he
says. Slajchrt has praise for the author especially in terms of the
atmosphere he manages to create and the vivid personalities which come
across - one may well recognize one's father in old Spiegelman ,
Slajchrt says. The book has also received publicity on Czech
television - but it is too early to say how it will go down with Czech
readers.
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