Twilight for corruption in the ČR

Former Prime Minister Stanislav Gross bought shares in energy company Moravia Energo, maybe for CZK 30 million, maybe 70 million, maybe more. There has been no legitimate explanation for how he gained such a fortune. German police informed their Czech counterparts about suspicions that one of the most significant domestic arms dealers, Richard Háva, a man whose career has been inseparably linked with current Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek, laundered dirty money through local firms. And current PM Mirek Topolánek is being obliged, in a somewhat embarrassing debate, to explain how his girlfriend got a used car.

A few news items are reminding us again that behind the scenes, domestic politics is still anchored in the dangerous waters of corruption. For most people in this country, reading such stories long ago stopped causing qualms or queasy stomachs. One can hear in pub, party or train conversations that people are tired of such news. They might refuse to admit it, but deep inside they know they are better off now than at any time before. Reports of possible political corruption or the shambles in local business dim the pleasure of the good life. And so bad news about the condition of Czech politics is more or less ignored. It is actually a logical development. The former „bad mood“ is disappearing, replaced not with resignation but with a feeling that…