Castle man - Czech presidential race

Fed-up with sleaze in public life, Czechs (early signs suggest) are favouring candidates with no affiliation to political parties. That is good news for the front runner, Jan Fischer, who left his job as the country's chief statistician to become caretaker prime minister in 2009, when the Czech government collapsed in the middle of the country's presidency of the European Union. 

 

"I do not want to be committed to any political party for supporting me in the presidential election. The only commitment I want to make is to the Czech citizens," he says, speaking from his office in London, where he works at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

 

Just behind him in the polls is another independent based abroad, the economist Jan Švejnar. He stood for the office in 2008, when only politicians could vote for the president, but his "US-style" campaign, involving meeting people around the country, won many admirers. One problem is that as a long-time émigre, he holds American citizenship (he has promised to renounce it if he wins).

 

The third independent candidate, Vladimir Dlouhý, is taking the race seriously, both politically and literally. A marathon runner, he plans to stage runs across the country as part of his campaign. His name in Czech means "long" and he's calling his campaign "The Long Run". "It starts now and could finish in 2018 [the next presidential election]," he says. "I am just coming out of the shadows now, I believe I have a chance but if not, I am here for the long run." He's already well-known in the country for being the Czech Republic's first ever trade and industry minister in Mr Klaus's first government, from 1993-1997, though that era of privatisation was mired in controversy. He was dubbed the "Teflon politician" because nothing stuck to him. He must now defend also his private sector work since 1997, including a stint with banking giant Goldman Sachs.  

 

But if independence is one theme for this election, age and experience are another. Mr Dlouhý, Mr Fischer and Mr Švejnar all have it; Právo newspaper even described Mr Fischer and Mr Švejnar as "good old daddies", a presidential tradition dating back to the first Czechoslovak president Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, in office from 1918-1935.

 

For other candidates though, a lack of experience is being seen as a weakness. And in the case of 42-year-old left-winger Jiří Dienstbier, the principled Czech Social Democrat Party (ČSSD) candidate, it could be crucial.  "He is the most popular politician in the Czech Republic but that's not sufficient to take office now, because the factor of his youth is more important in this election," said political analyst Vít Klepárník. Mr Dienstbier is trailing in the polls, although his numbers are improving. 

 

Another of the candidates is Karel Schwarzenberg, the aristocratic TOP 09 candidate who is currently foreign minister [a close relative works at The Economist but took no part in editing this story].  

 

"[Mr] Schwarzenberg is a man of history, and of the 2010 election, and it will not be a repeat," says Mr Klepárník. After an early surge in popularity in the presidential contest, Mr Schwarzenberg himself has said he will have "little time" to campaign because of the demands of his current job. Critics say these already appear arduous, given his habit of falling asleep in official meetings. Mr Schwarzenberg, responds with his hallmark insouciance, that: "When rubbish is being discussed, I sleep.

 

Age and experience are also cited by Miloš Zeman, prime minister from 1998-2002. A well-known name with a real chance, he is vying with Mr Švejnar for second place at the moment, despite a reputation for excessive conviviality and unguarded statements that repel some younger voters. He is the only candidate so far to collect all 50,000 signatures needed to officially register and he has won the support of his ex-rival Mr Klaus.

 

He is also one of three candidates, alongside Mr Fischer and Mr Dlouhý, who was a member of the Czechoslovak Communist Party in the 1980s. All of them have confronted this past to varying degrees, with Dlouhý perhaps taking the most controversial route in his recent refusal to apologise for his history. Mr Dienstbier caused a media storm recently when he said the communists were now just a normal party - particularly surprising as his father was a famous dissident in the pre-1989 era.

 

The remainder of the field, including the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) candidate, Přemysl Sobotka, Mr Klaus's assistant, Ladislav Jakl, and anti-European Sovereignty party leader and former TV presenter, Jana Bobošíková, among others, look unlikely to challenge the leading candidates. 

 

For now Mr Fischer's lead looks so strong that the real question is whether any one at all can stop him. Campaigning should begin in earnest in the autumn.

 J.R. AND K.J. | PRAGUE