The New Voice of 'New Europe'

Former Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus was elected president by parliamentary vote on Feb. 28. The true significance of the event is not Klaus' ascendancy, but the departure of his predecessor, Vaclav Havel. Havel's final exit from the political stage heralds the transfer of Central European leadership — not to Klaus, but to Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga. The shift will reshape Central Europe's relations with the current European Union states, Russia and the United States.