Langer cries wolf

Prague made the international news last week when the police sent reinforcements to the airport to guard against a terrorist threat predicted by a psychic. After he became the butt of many jokes for this, Interior Minister Ivan Langer tried to save face by denying that the police were acting on a clairvoyant's vision, but yesterday on Czech Television he dropped this line of defense and switched to the argument that sending 20 extra officers and an armored car wasn't excessive. The real problem with Langer, said ex-Interior Minister František Bublan, is that nothing ever comes of his shows of force. No actual threat is ever demonstrated, and the scares just die quickly away. Premier Mirek Topolánek was on vacation and was spared having to defend Langer. As in the case of Jiří Čunek, though, Langer's presence in the government is becoming a liability. If and when a real security threat appears, no one will be able to take him seriously.