Arrogance of power

Jiří Paroubek insists that voters aren't bothered by his style, and he has the numbers to back it up. STEM found that he has a 58% rating, to 41% for Mirek Topolánek. Paroubek is a chronic name-dropper (Schröder, Blair, Chirac, etc.) and even takes credit for ridding Wenceslas Square of prostitutes, but his arrogance is an everyman boast, complete with potbelly and a hint of inferiority complex. This is endearing to voters. ODS, in contrast, is unapologetic in its arrogance. Topolánek bought an Kč 8m apartment in a near-election year, Gov. Petr Bendl received a Porsche 911 from his rich wife, MP Ivan Langer took an Kč 83,000/month part-time job in a law firm, and ex-MP Vladimír Doležal was rewarded with a Kč 300,000/month job at ČKA when voters felt he should have gone to jail. Modesty isn't a strong point of either party, but ČSSD is managing its arrogance better.