Sunburned

The fun-in-the-sun Italian vacation scandal rocking Czech politics provides a good excuse for Václav Klaus to veto the law for gifting Kč 68bn in carbon credits to ČEZ. The ČEZ rider ain't no Lisbon treaty, but Klaus could easily explain himself by saying that there are too many questions about a possible quid pro quo for the jolly vacationers and others who pushed through the bill. He could ask, for example, why a top ČEZ lobbyist, Vladimír Johanes, has a consulting gig at the industry ministry. He could wonder aloud why Alexandr Vondra was still lobbying in the Senate for ČEZ, given that he already turned his old lobbying arm, Dutko, over to ČEZ's PR agency, AMI/Pan Solutions. Or, Klaus could argue that giving away Kč 68bn in state money would violate his own appeal for politicians to enact "maximum savings." Perhaps most convincingly, Klaus could say that he's sworn to uphold the Constitution and that riders of the carbon-credit variety are clearly unconstitutional. Or, he could veto it just to spite Mirek Topolánek.