Chamber of secrets

The Economist: Sparks fly in a murky business

WORRIES about hidden ties between politics and business prompted many Czechs to support anti-corruption candidates in a 2010 election. Their hopes of change have frayed: a series of scandals has embroiled the three-party coalition government. Now a Czech daily, Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD), has published purported wiretaps that appear to cast a striking light on politics in Prague in past years.

 

They feature, among other individuals, Roman Janousek, an influential businessman, and his ally Pavel Bem, the city’s ex-mayor, discussing, apparently improperly, sales of city and state property and office appointments. The tapes are dotted with expletives, coded phrases and bizarre nicknames such as “Maori queen” and “hummingbird”. (If nothing else, they are prime research material for anyone who happens to be interested in the political argot of Czech alpha males.) If true, they would dent the boy-scout image cultivated by Mr Bem, a parliamentary deputy for the Civic Democratic Party (ODS in Czech), which leads the ruling coalition.

 

Mr Janousek has made no public statement and hangs up the phone when reached by reporters. Mr Bem speaks of a “dirty trick” and a “brutal and incredible privacy breach”. Neither man has disputed the tapes’ authenticity.

Their provenance has caused a separate scandal. MfD says the tapes were originally the work of the country’s security service, and were leaked to a private company then owned by a leading politician in another coalition party. A parliamentary committee has demanded answers from Jiri Lang, the service’s director.

 

Under belated pressure from his ODS bosses, Petr Necas (the prime minister) and Bohuslav Svoboda (the mayor of Prague), Mr Bem has suspended his party membership until he clears his name. He says he will quit parliament only if convicted.

 

Mr Janousek is now in more trouble following a traffic accident on March 23rd. Police say he crashed his Porsche Cayenne into another car and ran over its driver as she tried to stop him fleeing. They also say he was drunk. He has apologised and said he will compensate the woman. But amid claims of favouritism, police chiefs are investigating why Mr Janousek was not arrested after he was detained in a park, apparently doing a runner. The police chief, Petr Lessy, says that “serious mistakes” were made.

 

Police are investigating the contents of the tapes. But for now, to many people the story exemplifies the woes that beset the Czech Republic: politically malleable state agencies, greedy politicians, over-mighty businesses and a culture of impunity. Public disgust could spell doom for ODS. Widespread perceptions of sleaze and arrogance have all but destroyed its once-strong centre-right counterpart in neighbouring Slovakia. Many see Mr Necas’s reaction as slow and tepid. Mr Bem is a protégé of the founding father of ODS, President Vaclav Klaus. His nonchalant response—that wiretaps are bad for democracy—may jar with voters who think their political system has worse foes.