The Zeman-Rychetský conspiracy

Chief Justice Pavel Rychetský of the Constitutional Court made a portentous statement on Oct. 7 of last year. When asked on OVM whether he would remain on the bench if Miloš Zeman won the presidential election and wanted him to stay, he said he would do so only if he had the chance to influence the makeup of the Court, esp. in terms of decision-making continuity. On Jan. 27, one day after Zeman was elected, Rychetský said something similar, again on OVM, but he demurred at the idea that Zeman would be "consulting" with him about Court appointments. In later statements, Rychetský retreated even more, saying it was Zeman's idea for him to remain, not his own. Like other commentators, we took this to be a prevarication on Rychetský's part, given what he had said in Oct. But what if he is telling the truth? What if it was indeed Zeman's idea for him to remain? In retrospect, Rychetský's Oct. statement is starting to look more like part of an elaborate Zeman-Rychetský plan for the Court that was hatched long before the presidential election.