Czech president weighs in on scandal

In related news, Czech President Václav Klaus has weighed in on the current scandal rocking the Civic Democrats. In comments made to the media, Mr Klaus, who established the party in the 1990s, stated that the current scandal was symptomatic of the emptiness of current politics which remain excessively focused on turf wars and power struggles. Fellow Civic Democrats were quick to distance themselves from the analysis. Prime Minister Topolánek, Interior Minister Ivan Langer and several other senior Civic Democrats publicly denied that Mr Klaus’s characterization was applicable, stating that that description was of a bygone era and not the current situation. In an interview with the Czech daily Hospodářské Noviny, Mr Topolánek stated that the era of the opposition agreement between the two major parties from 1998-2002 – a time when Mr Klaus led the party – was a time in which politics and business were unhealthily interwoven. The comments underline increasing tensions between Mr Klaus, the current honorary head of the Civic Democrats and Mr Topolánek.