The head of state tells parliament that the timing of the formation of a government depends upon an inexperienced and depressed public prosecutor in need of moral support.



"Then there came a moment when the first shock had worn off and when, in spite of everything-in spite of their terror of the dogs, and of the habit, developed through long years, of never complaining, never criticising, no matter what happened-they might have uttered some word of protest. But just at that moment, as though at a signal, all the sheep burst out into a tremendous bleating of "Four legs good, two legs better! Four legs good, two legs better! Four legs good, two legs better!" ..."

In the past twenty four hours, the president has reinforced the suspicion that the Olomouc state prosecutor and his ongoing investigations are an alibi, an excuse to hide his own unscrupulous grab for power.

Of course, Ivo Ištvan made a grave error of judgement in accepting the president’s invitation to the Castle last week. The ‘moral support’ offered by the president consisted of a presidential announcement to the world that the prosecutor was ‘inexperienced and depressed’.

And then Miloš Zeman stated in parliament on Wednesday that he would wait until Ištvan had “solved the Nagyová case” before attempting to form a second government in the event that his first attempt failed.

Rather than protect the prosecutor from political interference, which is the president’s stated intention, Zeman has emphatically humiliated him. An excellent analysis of how is provided by Erik Best in his column today (see here).

The president has knowingly undermined the prosecutor’s independence by his actions. And he now claims to make the formation of a government dependent upon such a man!

This all places the prosecutor under extreme political pressure NOT to solve the case in good time, or indeed at all –the perfect "cartel-ian" outcome no less. Zeman consolidates his dominance over his political rivals, who lose power but stay out of jail (Czech politicians do not imprison each other –this is not Russia or the Ukraine.)

And the prosecutor is ridiculed and tamed.

I have never doubted the willingness of Ištvan’s would-be protectors as well as his actual detractors to compromise his independence. But like many of you, I do cling to the forlorn hope that the prosecutor is acting in good faith, not on the orders or the go-ahead of the head of state. It is a cruel irony that the verbal attacks against Ištvan by Kalousek, Blažek and others have served only to make the intentions of the president’s lethal ‘protection’ of Ištvan appear authentically democratic.

Of course, all useful idiots act in good faith –that is why we are idiots and not bastards. But Zeman has rendered Ištvan useless as a prosecutor. He has become, unwittingly perhaps, a presidential tool, an exceptionally useful alibi for Zeman's autocratic assault on the hollowed-out institutions of a fragile democracy, including the institution of the public prosecutor itself.

Are we all to become bleating sheep in need of presidential moral support?