Outlý vs. Zeman

PM Bohuslav Sobotka is meeting with his ministers one by one, which could easily be interpreted three months before the parliamentary elections as a campaign gimmick subject to spending limits. No one is very worried about it, though, because the costs involved are minimal and, well, because Sobotka represents ČSSD. Unlike in Sobotka's case, the campaign for president hasn't even been announced, so no limits yet apply, but Jan Outlý of the campaign-oversight office said last week that if Miloš Zeman didn't visit the regions during the official campaign period, he would make things easier for the campaign-oversight office and for himself. This is a highly political statement coming from the head of what is supposed to be an apolitical office. Outlý is subject to the civil-service act but is following in the footsteps of Tomáš Prouza and Alena Schillerová by violating his vow not to be political. It will likely backfire on him, just as it did with Prouza and Schillerová.