The flip side of gender equality

With Adriana Krnáčová in the mayor's seat in Prague, and with Mayor Radmila Kleslová of Prague 10 whispering in her ear, it's time to start talking about a Prague women's club. Never in memory has there been such a potentially powerful female one-two punch in Czech politics, and it demands comparison with Topolánek-Dalík, Bém-Janoušek and Sobotka-Pokorný. Gender equality doesn't - or shouldn't - mean the women can act just as badly as the men. In fact, gender equality in politics is a bit unfair, because it puts an extra burden on the women to show that they earned their positions on their own merits and aren't anyone's puppets. Vlasta Parkanová could write reams about how difficult this is. As the head of Transparency International, Krnáčová was very good at making pithy one-liners about cleaning up government. As mayor she needs to show very quickly that she also knows how to speak in full sentences.