Ersatz Schroeder

Gerhard Schröder will visit Prague today, and Czechs will have the chance to compare the original Schröder to the Czech imitation, Jiří Paroubek. The similarities during a recent ČSSD party meeting were remarkable: Emphatic hand gestures, an attack on journalists and talk of early elections. The big difference is their degree of willingness to work with the Far Left. Schröder refuses to embrace it, even if it could keep him in office, whereas Paroubek is increasingly eager to enlist the Communists. He told F1 radio last night that he doesn't mind if his party turns to the Communists on a given vote. Schröder staged a near upset by aggressively courting the Center, but Paroubek is drifting farther to the Left, alienating not only some of ČSSD's traditional voters, but also moderates who don't trust ODS. There's still plenty the real Schröder can teach him.