Final Word from Monday, March 4, 2019
As long as Milan Chovanec had a significant influence over ČSSD, Pres. Miloš Zeman opposed its participation in the government of Andrej Babiš. Zeman advised ČSSD at its congress in Feb. 2018 to support the Babiš government but not to enter it. He didn't want Chovanec to undermine the cabinet from within. Yet as soon as Chovanec was sidelined at the 2018 congress (with Zeman's considerable help), Zeman reversed course and started actively encouraging ČSSD to enter the government. At the latest ČSSD congress this past weekend, Zeman praised the party for its cabinet activity and said that he will now vote for it in the EU elections. Chovanec is a spent force, as are the other key faces of the commercial group we call ČSSD a.s. (Josef Bernard, Martin Netolický). ČSSD a.s. and its friendly media (including Czech TV and Economia) are no longer a threat to Zeman, and he can now start helping to restore the party that this internecine war nearly destroyed. [ Czech Republic Television European Union ]
Glossary of difficult words
to undermine - to subvert or weaken insidiously or secretly;
to sideline - to remove from the center of activity or attention; to place in a less influential position;
to reverse course - suddenly to hold or espouse a position or opinion that runs contrary or opposite to one held previously;
spent force - a person, group or effort that is no longer as powerful, influential or effective as it once was;
internecine - of or relating to a struggle within a nation, organization or group; mutually destructive; ruinous or fatal to both sides.