Final Word from Monday, November 3, 2008
Whatever happened to ODS as the party that reduces bureaucracy and looks after the little guy? Many perplexed Czechs are scratching their heads. Not just because of the new healthcare fees, but also because of other small intrusions into their lives. Like the way thousands of early adapters to digital TV missed their favorite programs on Fri. because no one warned them that the frequencies were changing. Or the new requirement on many roads that cars have snow tires with a deeper tread (4mm) than required in the Alps. Or the way Shell got away with slapping a Kč 3/liter premium on regular diesel and pawning it off as V-Power super formula. While ODS is worrying about such lofty ideas as the EU presidency and energy-climate packages, lowly voters are living their mundane lives and blaming ODS for the total "bordel" around them, even when ODS isn't directly responsible for it.[Czech Republic mess fuel television České Radiokomunikace]
Glossary of difficult words
harassment - (in this context) hassle, bother, nuisance;
perplexed - confused, baffled;
to scratch one's head - to feel or express bewilderment or confusion;
intrusion - invasion, disturbance;
early adapter - a person who adopts a new technology before most others;
to pawn something off as - to pass off something as something unwanted;
lofty - noble, exalted, elevated;
lowly - low in status or importance;
mundane - of this earthly world;
bodel - Czech slang for "mess."