Final Word from Thursday, November 19, 2009
Twenty years later, and ex-Communists are everywhere: Jan Fischer as prime minister, Jan Kohout as foreign minister, Eduard Janota as finance minister, Štefan Füle as EU-commissioner candidate, Pavel Rychetský as Constitutional Court chief justice, etc. One of the biggest complaints of today's "dissidents" is that the CR hasn't cultivated a new political and civil-service elite. Of course, this is only partly true. The talent is there, but it isn't being put to its full use. In the West, there's an established process from K-1 to the grave for making sure people toe the line. It produces conformists who do what is expected of them, without asking many questions. This system hasn't been perfected yet in post-revolutionary Central Europe, so it's much safer to tap into the pool of trained talent from the past than to risk running up against a loose cannon. A pre-vetted ex-Communist is a known, trusted element.[Czech Republic KSČ European Commission Communism]
Glossary of difficult words
to cultivate - to educate, train, develop;
civil service - the permanent, professional branch of a government's administration;
K-1 - the first year of kindergarten;
to toe the line - to accept the authority, principles or policies of a particular group;
to tap - to exploit or draw a supply from a resource or source;
loose cannon - a person who is expected to perform a given task but is out of control and dangerous;
pre-vetted - previously subjected to a background check.