The Czechs are in danger of becoming the EU’s weakest link

MURPHY’s law seems to prevail in the EU as in many other spheres. Just when the union needs to concentrate very closely on getting its act together on the global economic crisis, a sideshow threatens to take over.

The Czech government’s fall during the week was compounded in the European Parliament by its prime minister’s undiplomatic description of the US stimulus agenda as the “road to hell”.

The problem is that the Czechs hold the EU’s rotating presidency — an attempt to give all member states hands-on experience at the helm of the union for six months.

Long-acknowledged that while it’s a nice idea, in a world of hard-nosed politics it leaves the union without real leadership in the world.

The alternative agreed by the member states’ leaders has been written into the Lisbon treaty, which cannot come into force until Ireland and the Czechs agree to it.

But on Wednesday the EU is poised to play a leading role in the meeting of the world’s leading economies at the G20 meeting in London.

Well-represented, they have come as close to consensus as the EU ever comes in a policy direction.

Even Gordon Brown, having started out screaming for extra stimulus a la the US, has joined Germany’s Angela Merkel in emphasising the need for regulation of the engines of economies.

On Friday and Saturday the union’s finance ministers meet in Prague where they are likely to advance the direction agreed at the G20. And on Sunday the union gets an opportunity to see just how close they are tothe new US administration when President Barak Obama takes part in the EU-US summit, also in Prague.

But the weak link in the chain could well be the EU’s presidency, unless the main political parties in the Czech parliament agree to form a new government and preferably under the leadership of the outgoing prime minister, Mirek Topolanek.

If they don’t the reins will pass into the hands of the country’s president, long-time EU tormentor Vaclav Klaus. Accused of being the father of “gangster capitalism” by the first Czech president, playwright Vaclav Havel, and blamed for the republic being one of the most corrupt in the union, the next few days will decide how far he can go towards calling the shots in the EU.

President Klaus, who does not believe in climate change, supports Russia in its actions in Georgia, gas pipelines and Kosovo and has vetoed his country’s anti-discrimination legislation, favours his close ally and anti-EU colleague Pavel Bem as the next prime minister.

Mr Topolanek and Social Democrat leader Jiri Paroubek are desperately trying to reach agreement on forming a new government rather than leave this to their mutual foe, Klaus.

And in the background is the Lisbon treaty with its promise of freedom from parish-pump politics with a permanent president for 2½ years at a time — but that needs the Czech upper house to agree and President Klaus to do as he promised and sign it. And for the Irish electorate to vote in it’s favour.

Could it all be down to Murphy’s law again?