Who will split the atom

„The Czech Republic does not have many other possibilities for the future but nuclear energy.“ This sentence came not from the mouth of an opposition leader, but from the prime minister, whose cabinet has included its „stop new Temelín power plants“ stance in its platform. What does it mean? Is the strongest anti-nuclear party – the Greens – going to march tomorrow out of the Straka Academy, calling for snap elections? Soup is never as hot as when eaten right after it's done cooking, but this is a line in the sand.

When the Greens made a proposal „to freeze the nuclear programme“ at the coalition meetings, Industry and Trade Minister Martin Říman reportedly ran out of the room, saying he would not negotiate with such extremists. The extremists have become allies, and the ODS had to grind its teeth and forget about one of its key energy concepts. But up on the captain's bridge, knocking from the hold has been heard ever since. Billions of crowns are at stake, and ČEZ does not want to fall behind its competitors.

The current discussion was fuelled by a discreet seminar held several months ago at the lower house's economic committee. The semi-closed event was attended by most of the key people in the energy industry – ČEZ's manager, the chief of the Office for Nuclear Safety, coal barons and various lobbyists – who met with mostly unnamed Social Democratic, Civic…