Final Word from Wednesday, September 24, 2008
MFD rushed out a lead article today that tries to quell speculation that its latest revelations by Jaroslav Kmenta serve the interests of Jiří Paroubek's ČSSD. Nothing against the concept of equal time in casting aspersions, but the article is even flimsier than the ones linking Vlastimil Tlustý and Ivan Langer to the underworld. Readers are supposed to believe that developer Luděk Sekyra used Paroubek in 2000 to put pressure on then-CEO Jiří Kunert of Živnobanka to sell shares in IPS builder to Sekyra. Some uninformed readers might swallow it, but the decision-makers MFD is trying to win with its beefed-up business section will see through it. Kunert has one of the cleanest reputations among Czech bankers. He's about as tight-fisted with shareholder money as they come. If MFD really wanted to distance itself from Paroubek, it would send Kmenta to do some snooping around at Prague 5 city hall.[Czech Republic UniCredit Živnostenská banka construction]
Glossary of difficult words
to quell - to put an end to;
equal time - (in broadcasting) a principle of allowing equal air time to opposing points of view;
to cast aspersions - to make an attack on the reputation or integrity of someone;
flimsy - weak and unconvincing;
to swallow - to believe something unquestionably;
beefed-up - more substantial or larger;
to see through something - not to be deceived by; to detect the true nature or purpose of something;
tight-fisted - not willing to spend or give much money;
to snoop around - to investigate, ask questions.