Herman is no Havel

Was it a tactical mistake for Miloš Zeman to deny that he used a medal of honor for Jiří Brady last month to put pressure on Daniel Herman not to meet officially with the Dalai Lama? Would he have fared better with voters if he had just admitted it? Try, if you can, to consider this while putting aside issues of morality and integrity, which play little role in politics anyway. Zeman's standing with voters clearly suffered when he denied a medal to Herman's 88-year-old uncle, although it's too early to say by how much. Zeman's tactical mistake - if it was one - apparently came from not recognizing soon enough that Herman had an ulterior motive and was prepared to show how the sausage is made in an effort to become the reincarnation of Václav Havel. Tactically, Zeman might have said instead: "Herman wanted a medal for his uncle, and yes, I changed my mind after he broke his end of the deal. Herman thinks he's Havel, but he behaved like a snake."