Rychetský outfoxed Zeman for now

In retrospect, it seems that Pres. Miloš Zeman's decision to act so early to set the date for parliamentary elections was more an effort to thwart the actions of Chief Justice Pavel Rychetský of the Constitutional Court than to cause trouble for the new coalitions that are challenging Andrej Babiš. Rychetský's court yesterday struck down parts of the electoral law with immediate effect, which is exactly what Zeman was trying to prevent. He apparently got wind of the Court's impending decision and then hurriedly set the date for the parliamentary elections as Oct. 8-9. It was a preemptive strike, but the tactic didn't work. Such maneuvering from a political animal like Zeman is to be expected. The bigger question is whether Rychetský's court timed its own decision - it waited three years to act on the complaint - as a way to affect the election outcome. One possibility now is that Zeman and Babiš will arrange to postpone the elections and will put the blame on Rychetský.