Final Word from Friday, January 4, 2008
Jan Švejnar could have his cake and eat it too with regard to vowing to give up his U.S. citizenship, according to one of our well-informed readers. In special circumstances, the reader said, the U.S. can show leniency in terms of returning American citizenship to someone who has renounced it. Perhaps this possibility is what Švejnar had in mind when he told Rádio Impuls that giving up his U.S. passport wouldn't be such a big deal for him. Otherwise, his comment makes little sense, given the ramifications of renouncing U.S. citizenship. Politically, it could be a very big deal indeed if Švejnar promised to give up his U.S. citizenship (if elected) while knowing he could reclaim it 5-10 years later. It could increase, and not decrease, doubts about his divided loyalties, because Czechs would wonder why the U.S. was willing merely to suspend his rights and what conditions were attached to the deal.[Czech Republic United States of America dual nationality]
Glossary of difficult words
suspension - temporary prohibition of the exercise of a privilege;
to have one's cake and eat it too - to have two (usually) incompatible things at the same time;
leniency - tolerance, permissiveness;
to renounce - formally to declare one's abandonment of a right or claim;
ramification - consequence of an action;
divided loyalty - allegiance to two or more different causes at the same time.