Teflon Karel

Polls show that Karel Schwarzenberg remains a strong draw among young voters, esp. in Prague. For his popularity to remain so high nine months after the presidential elections is an admirable feat, given what has happened in the meantime. The government of Petr Nečas fell, and Miroslav Kalousek quickly became Miloš Zeman's top target, but little of the crossfire landed on Schwarzenberg. OKD then became one of the leading election topics, yet Schwarzenberg's business and political dealings with its owner didn't register as a major issue. Most recently, Právo reported that Schwarzenberg wants to be lenient in returning church assets, but the story went nowhere. Jiří Rusnok complained of not being teflon-enough; Schwarzenberg got a double coating. He never attained the presidency and never will, but so far he's managing somehow to go out more gracefully than either of his two main rivals.