HEY WAIT, WE FINALLY FOUND SOMEPLACE WHERE THEY'VE HAD ENOUGH:

Czechs vote in close-run election (BBC, 6/02/06)

Czech voters are going to the polls in what is expected to be the most closely contested parliamentary election in the country's recent history.

The ruling centre-left Social Democrats are facing a stiff challenge from the centre-right Civic Democrats during the two-day election. [...]

The Social Democrats have dominated the government for the past eight years, steering the Czech Republic into the EU in 2004.

However, it is unlikely that any party will get an outright majority, analysts say.

Q&A: Czech election (BBC, 6/01/06)

The opposition Civic Democrats are a centre-right conservative party that advocates a liberal economy without major state intervention.

They have promised to introduce a 15% flat income tax, a single 15% VAT rate, and to abolish all other taxes.

They favour a more cautious approach to the adoption of the euro than the Social Democrats.

The Civic Democratic Party was founded by the current Czech President, Vaclav Klaus, who led it for 11 years. Mr Klaus only stood down from the post of party leader when he decided to run for the presidency in 2002, and his successor, Mirek Topolanek, is thus only the second ODS leader in the party's history.

Yup, the perfect global political climate for the United States to veer leftwards, eh?

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 2, 2006 8:04 AM