Final Word from Monday, June 1, 2015
Readers of the printed version of today's Hospodářské noviny will find a commentary but no news story about the court ruling on Fri. acquitting Jana Nagyová Nečasová and three "subordinates" of abusing Military Intelligence to follow Petr Nečas's first wife. Such a news blackout happens occasionally with business papers when something big happens on Fri. and it's all over the internet and Sat. newspapers. A news story about it on Mon. might seem like old hat. In the Nagyová case, though, it's legitimate to ask whether it's news to begin with. Of course everyone was interested in the court ruling, esp. because the defendants were acquitted and the state prosecutors were made to look bad, but what is the actual relevance? For the defendants and their family, the relevance is obviously high. But for everyone else? The verdict is subject to state secrecy, so it's impossible to draw any definitive conclusions about the state of the public prosecution or the judicial system. The important thing is that the deed was done - the Nečas cabinet fell. What comes next is secondary. [Czech Republic HN Friday Monday Saturday Ivo Ištván]
Glossary of difficult words
to acquit - to free someone from a criminal charge by a verdict of not guilty;
blackout - a suppression of information, esp. one imposed on the media by government;
old hat - used to refer to something uninteresting, predictable, tritely familiar or old-fashioned.