A profitable police raid at Škoda T.

Two weeks after ex-Interior Min. Milan Chovanec called on ČSSD to leave the government, the police and customs officials raided the Pilsen facilities of Škoda Transportation. Is there a connection? Of course there is a connection. By calling for the breakup of the ruling coalition, Chovanec was admitting publicly for the first time that he had lost influence over the police. Yesterday's raid for the alleged criminal acts of a company that was extremely close to him while he was the interior minister is confirmation of his new helplessness. Škoda Transportation was being run at the time of the suspected illegal transactions by current Pilsen Gov. Josef Bernard of ČSSD, a fact that suddenly puts his political future in doubt. Škoda is now under new ownership, so the issue of corporate criminal liability will likely be sidestepped. PPF, as the new owner, probably actually welcomes the criminal prosecution of the previous owners and management. Chances are that it has a clause about this in its purchase contract. PPF can draw a line under the past at Škoda and do it in a way that brings it a tidy profit.