Zeman vs. Klaus in the 2nd Presidential Elections: a clash made in heaven
In five days' time both houses of Czech parliament shall meet for the second time in two weeks to try and elect a new Czech president - this after three rounds in a first election were not enough to see any of the candidates through. Even so, a strong finish by former prime minister Vaclav Klaus, the right-of-centre Civic Democrat nominee, has given Mr Klaus momentum and he was the first to decide whole-heartedly to try again in a second attempt. This time, though, he may be facing tougher opponents...
"Speculation ends now after the decision by the central executive committee. Next week I will ask for the possibility of meeting with the heads of all the parliamentary parties."
Mr Zeman got the nomination in spite of a pronounced anti-Zeman wing within the party led by the Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla. But, if opposition at the weekend to Mr Zeman's nomination was uncharacteristically subdued - to the point of a whimper - many pundits believe it is because Mr Zeman's opponents within the Social Democratic party are quietly banking that any race between Mr Zeman and Mr Klaus is likely to end in a stalemate - a titan-like clash with lots of surrounding hullabaloo but no result. Neither man, it seems, has enough support across the political spectrum to be able to actually win the presidency - not unless MPs and senators from at least one of the five parties in parliament have a sudden change of heart. Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla:
"If the election ended in a stalemate we would have to weigh two options: whether it will be at all possible to find a candidate who would find enough support in parliament to be elected, that's one, and the other line of thinking would be ways to adopt a direct presidential vote."
In order to win the presidency any candidate must secure a majority in both the 200-seat Chamber of Deputies and the 81-member Senate. Conventional wisdom says Mr Zeman will take the Lower House, where the Social Democrats have 70 seats, if they gain support from coalition partners and above all, the Communist party, a major player with 41 seats. Likewise, Mr Klaus could dominate in the Senate, where the Civic Democrats enjoy a strong presence. The problem is in the three smaller parties, including the Freedom Union, which has already announced it will support neither candidate, holding out for a constitutional change in the elections process that would see the adoption of a direct presidential vote. Freedom Union leader Petr Mares:
Finally, there has even been some speculation that some Communist MPs could give their vote to Vaclav Klaus, although MP Jiri Dolejs said on a Czech TV talk show Saturday that for him personally Mr Zeman was more acceptable as the Social Democrats as a left-of-centre party have more in common with the Communists. If, however, it came down to ultimately producing a president in the third round Mr Dolejs said they would consider all options:
"I think that if we take as a matter of priority that a candidate should be elected in the 2nd elections, it may happen that we will either give our votes to the Social Democrat candidate, or we will consider whether it isn't a lesser evil to support a candidate who would represent all Czech citizens, who would be duly representative of the state abroad, perhaps Vaclav Klaus - we don't have a third contender as yet."
Only this Friday, of course, will tell how individual MPs shall decide, and whether or not political back-room dealing will give either of the candidates the necessary edge. Also, it is impossible to rule out at this point, an entry by a third or even fourth candidate in the race who could shake up a direct show-down between the two figures who have most influenced politics since the fall of Communism: two former party heads, two former prime ministers: Vaclav Klaus, and Milos Zeman. A clash made in heaven, it seems, but one that many analysts say is unlikely to produce a victor.
