Nine long months
Václav Klaus hasn't been so angry since the "daylight robbery" of IPB nine years ago. He said that yesterday's decision by the Constitutional Court to strike down early elections was an intentional move meant to deepen the political crisis. All of society is threatened, he said. What the Court hoped to gain, he didn't say. It's entirely possible, though, that the country will be without a seated lower house of Parliament until regular elections next June if the Court continues to act this way. If the House is dissolved next week and a new challenge to early elections is submitted and upheld by the high court, the cabinet and the finicky Senate will gain unprecedented power to pass - or not pass - legal measures. This could help explain Klaus's seething anger. With no MPs to push things through, some of the best-laid schemes of his business friends could be upset. For some, this is indeed a full-fledged crisis.
Glossary of difficult words
daylight robbery - Klaus referred to the takeover of IPB as a robbery in broad daylight;seated - duly elected and confirmed in office;
regular elections - if early elections were invalidated and were not rescheduled (because there was no Parliament to do so), regular elections would go forward as stipulated by the Constitution;
to uphold (a decision) - to confirm, affirm or support;
high court - a supreme court of justice (in this case the Constitutional Court);
finicky - picky, choosy, difficult to please;
unprecedented power - Para. 33 of the Czech Constitution stipulates that if Parliament is dissolved, the Senate has authority to pass legal measures proposed by the cabinet; a constitutional debate might arise as to whether the president can veto such legal measures;
seething - intense but unexpressed (anger).