CZECHS PASS PRESIDENCY TO SWEDES
By Benjamin Cunningham

Prague Post
July 1, 2009

EU leadership stint criticized for political infighting

The collapse of the Topolanek government cast an overwhelming pall
over the Czech European Union presidency, say experts, so much so
that concrete accomplishments are likely to go unnoticed.

As Sweden takes the EU helm July 1, a panel of political analysts
universally cited the March vote of no-confidence as the key event
of the six-month presidency. After being pressed in interviews,
most moved on to lukewarm general reviews of the Czech performance,
citing diplomatic competence, the start of formal talks with countries
on the EU’s eastern periphery and a successful compromise with the
Irish in preparation for an autumn referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

"Overall, it was a failure of the Czech political elite and a
sign of immaturity," said Petr Drulak with the Prague Institute
for International Relations. Going one step further, and turning
conventional wisdom on its head, Drulak placed blame for the collapse
very much on the doorstep of former Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek
and his Civic Democratic Party-led coalition, as opposed to frequently
blamed opposition leader Jiøí Paroubek.