Czech Senate Accuses President Vaclav Klaus of High Treason

Czech President and voice of conservatism Vaclav Klaus was accused of high treason on March 4 by the Czech Senate.

This means a treason complaint will be forwarded to the Czech Constitutional Court.

The complaint arises from a group of amnesties and pardons granted on Jan. 1 to “business executives and officials who were charged with fraud.” This pardons seemed to have left a bad taste in the mouth of Czech citizens who have witnessed corruption in their government system since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s. 

Klaus was also accused of “undermining the Constitution by…failing to sign a plan to setup a bailout fund for Europe, even though it was approved by Parliament.”

As bad as these accusations may sound, many see them as being of little consequence–particularly because Klaus’s term as president ends on March 7. Yet if he is found guilty, he will lose his presidential pension and the right to run as president at a future date.

For his part, Klaus “dismissed the vote as a political game.” (The Senate that accused him is dominated by his political enemies.)