Prague/Mokrá-Horákov - Civic Democrat (ODS) leader and former PM Mirek Topolánek on Sunday started a campaign in South Moravia, where he is running for the parliament. He reiterated his accusation that the Social Democrats (ČSSD) had spied on him during his recent holiday in Tuscany.
Czech media recently published photographs showing Topolánek and his family on a luxury yacht in the company of Czech business executives and lobbyists. The pictures came from Karel Randák, former head of Czech intelligence services.
Topolánek accused the ČSSD, his party's main rival, of having ordered the services of the former spy to discredit him and the ODS. This triggered an avalanche of hostile statements from both parties in the media. ČSSD leader Jiří Paroubek finally called on Topolánek to provide evidence for his charges, which the ODS leader repeatedly refused to do.
"I don't know what other evidence [journalists] needed than that Karel Randák, a man very close to the Social Democrats and their marketing chief Petr Dimun, effectively has at his disposal intelligence methods and intelligence data," Topolánek told ČTK. "In this sense I don't need to provide any evidence."
Secretly followed
Topolánek was secretly photographed while spending a holiday in Italy with his family, friends and a group of business leaders and lobbyists. Among those in the pictures are Martin Roman, CEO at energy giant ČEZ and the company's lobbyist Vladimír Johanes.
Some media say the guests also included Martin Procházka, chief of chemical companies Spolchemie and Setuza, which in turn have links with Tomáš Pitr, an entrepreneur wanted for serious fraud, currently at large at an unknown place abroad.
Some pundits have suggested that the joint trip of politicians and business leaders might be associated with the recently approved Czech law on an emission-trading scheme. Under the legislation, ČEZ, the largest air polluter in the Czech Republic, will earn tens of billions of crowns by selling unneeded carbon credits. ČEZ has rejected any link between the law and its chief's holiday with Topolánek.
In October's general elections, South Moravia will see potentially the country's most interesting battle, with Topolánek facing strong opponents. These will include ČSSD deputy chairman and former finance minister Bohuslav Sobotka, Christian Democrat candidate and former governor Stanislav Juránek, and former education minister Ondřej Liška (Green Party).
The Communists and Top 09 will field women as ballot leaders, namely MP Zuzka Bebarová-Rujbrová and Anna Putnová, dean of the Faculty of Business and Management at Brno University of Technology.
