Posted on 03/25/2009 9:35:07 AM PDT by pobeda1945
The Czech parliament's vote of no confidence in the government led by Mirek Topolanek was apparently influenced, among other things, by the government's support for the U.S. plans to deploy a missile defense radar in that country, said Russian Permanent Representative to NATO Dmitry Rogozin.
"I believe the issue of the deployment of a missile defense facility on Czech soil was among the main and fundamental reasons for Czech society and the Czech opposition to criticize the government led by Topolanek," Rogozin told Interfax on Tuesday, in comments on the political crisis in the Czech Republic.
In the current situation, the ratification by the Czech parliament of a deal with the U.S. on the deployment of a missile defense radar station in that country looks quite uncertain, he said.
"Sure, a lot will depend on the Czech president's will, but anyway it is obvious that the opposition has become much stronger of late, and the withdrawal of a bill on the ratification of the missile defense agreement from the parliament, which the Topolanek government felt forced to do, was only the first portent of this," he said.
"Topolanek was concerned that the missile defense bill could have failed, but it is all his policy that has failed," he said.
Public opinion polls show that from 50% to 70% of Czechs are against the deployment of missile defense facilities in their country, Rogozin said.
"Western experts have also noticed that opposition to the plans to deploy an American radar station in the Czech Republic has been growing, and we now see direct evidence of this," he said.
Rogozin said he saw two possible ways the events in the Czech Republic could develop. "The Czech president could accept the Topolanek government's resignation and propose that another Cabinet be put together. It is quite possible that it is the left-centrist coalition that could offer candidates for it," he said.
It is also possible that the president and the parliament could call early parliamentary elections, for instance, in the fall, and that Topolanek could be left acting prime minister and lead a provisional government until then, Rogozin said.
"In any case, the Czech Republic is now entering a pre-election period and very passionate expectations intertwined with the financial and economic crisis Czech society is currently dealing with," Rogozin said. In this situation, Prague's foreign policies will inevitably undergo some adjustments, he said.
"In my view, the Czech government, whatever its composition is, is in any case unlikely to become a credible partner of Washington as regards the ratification of the agreement with the U.S. and the promotion of the plans to deploy an American radar station as an element of the third phase of the U.S. strategic missile defense system," Rogozin said.
What the Czechs really need to do is to stand up for themselves by creating their own military force of highly skilled soldiers and keep them ready to take on any invaders if necessary even Russian forces.
But we do need to station missile defense somewhere in Europe. There are other countries we could station those missiles, Poland, Germany, etc.
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