Final Word from Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Politicians of the leading political parties reacted angrily yesterday to a decision by the Constitutional Court to put early elections on hold. ODS Chair Mirek Topolánek, who has been in a particularly foul mood lately, called the decision absurd. Most striking was the total lack of willingness of Topolánek and other public officials to accept that there is a set of laws that are to be followed. They prefer instead to circumvent laws or change them to suit their purposes. It's a sort of semi-anarchy, where there are few accepted standards, and justice is meted out discriminately based on connections and corruption. The Constitutional Court has stepped into the middle of this, interfering with some of the best-laid schemes of mice and men for stripping the state of more of its wealth. It's only a temporary setback, but it's an enlightening interlude for those who have not yet fully appreciated what is afoot.[Czech Republic fresh October parliamentary]
Glossary of difficult words
to put on hold - to postpone or delay (in this case until the Court rules on the legality of early elections);
foul - very disagreeable or unpleasant;
to circumvent - to over a problem in a clever or surreptitious way;
to mete out - to dispense or allot (justice, punishment or harsh treatment);
discriminately - in an unfair or uneven way;
best-laid schemes of mice and men - from Robert Burns' poem "To a mouse, on turning her up in her nest with the plough";
enlightening - providing greater knowledge and understanding about a subject or situation;
interlude - an intervening period of time;
afoot - in preparation or progress; happening or beginning to happen.