ČSSD's David Rath dilemma

The Czech political scene has changed significantly since the Supreme Court ruled one year ago in the Zdeněk Altner case that a final court ruling is not legally binding when the interests of ČSSD are at stake. ČSSD still had a fighting chance then in its battle with ANO. The TNS polling spread was only 5.5 percentage points, compared to today's 21.5 points, and the court ruling kept ČSSD from being financially incapacitated. ČSSD has now all but lost its election battle against ANO, and this greatly increases the risks to the Supreme Court justices. If they uphold the inadmissibility of wiretaps on shaky grounds (which is probably the only way they could), Miloš Zeman will show them no mercy. He questioned last week on TV Barrandov how we can trust the judiciary when Rath is still running around free. A Supreme Court ruling in Rath's favor might save ČSSD from this "rat," but it will condemn the party forever as the one that owns the Czech judiciary.