diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog
index 3e60a71c2856447f65a06b187500779d2eae9e84..3dc0c77078504bfef95333bdab14a374c620bbe4 100644
--- a/ChangeLog
+++ b/ChangeLog
@@ -1,3 +1,10 @@
+Wed Dec 12 09:11:44 CET 2007 Jim Meyering <meyering@redhat.com>
+
+	Always build in python/ subdir.
+	* configure.in (PYTHON_SUBDIR): Don't set.  Remove all uses.
+	* Makefile.am (SUBDIRS): Hard-code "python" here.
+	(tests): Test equivalent "$(pythondir)", not @PYTHON_SUBDIR@.
+
 Wed Dec 12 08:20:07 CET 2007 Jim Meyering <meyering@redhat.com>
 
 	Accommodate automake-1.9.
diff --git a/Makefile.am b/Makefile.am
index c49c533c2cde1e698ce193cc2f7df0c1b8876ae4..34a1eb507ac152304c2bf3f46d7b43ade2d85312 100644
--- a/Makefile.am
+++ b/Makefile.am
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ## Process this file with automake to produce Makefile.in
 
 SUBDIRS = gnulib/lib include src qemud proxy docs gnulib/tests \
-  @PYTHON_SUBDIR@ tests po scripts
+  python tests po scripts
 
 ACLOCAL_AMFLAGS = -I m4 -I gnulib/m4
 
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ check-local: all tests
 
 tests:
 	@(cd docs/examples ; $(MAKE) MAKEFLAGS+=--silent tests)
-	@(if [ "@PYTHON_SUBDIR@" != "" ] ; then cd python ; \
+	@(if [ "$(pythondir)" != "" ] ; then cd python ; \
 	  $(MAKE) MAKEFLAGS+=--silent tests ; fi)
 
 cov: cov-recursive cov-am
diff --git a/configure.in b/configure.in
index 8e5cca48dfdcadda54a7770b0530cc2f8b254612..d37c0d8af3edc4201766997e22629ddfa404dd0a 100644
--- a/configure.in
+++ b/configure.in
@@ -568,14 +568,7 @@ else
     PYTHON=
 fi
 AM_CONDITIONAL(WITH_PYTHON, test "$PYTHON_INCLUDES" != "")
-if test "$PYTHON_INCLUDES" != ""
-then
-    PYTHON_SUBDIR=python
-else
-    PYTHON_SUBDIR=
-fi
 AC_SUBST(pythondir)
-AC_SUBST(PYTHON_SUBDIR)
 AC_SUBST(PYTHON_VERSION)
 AC_SUBST(PYTHON_INCLUDES)
 AC_SUBST(PYTHON_SITE_PACKAGES)