New Year's opposition agreement

One of the first political events of 2008 will be the annual luncheon on Wed. between Václav Klaus and the PM of the moment, Mirek Topolánek. Klaus will host it, but Topolánek will likely have the upper hand. Despite his proclamations about backing Klaus for president, there's reason to believe he's also mulling over other options, and the fact of the matter is that Klaus needs Topolánek more than Topolánek needs Klaus. Topolánek, as Klaus has already seen, is like a bad rash that won't go away. Klaus's best option for assuring that Topolánek won't torpedo his reelection is an "opposition agreement" of the kind he signed with another sworn enemy, Miloš Zeman. Topolánek could grant his support in exchange for, say, Klaus's turning his back on Pavel Bém and guaranteeing Topolánek more of a voice at Prague city hall. Such a deal would need to be kept under wraps until after the election, though, because Klaus still needs Bém's help in "buying" the Communist vote.