Final Word from Tuesday, September 20, 2011
If a new Civic Forum is to rise from the ashes of the CR'sscorched earth, as billionaire Andrej Babiš is urging, whois supposed to lead it? Certainly not Babiš, who readily admitsthat his status as an "old structure" disqualifies him.But doesn't that also to a large degree disqualify anyone whomight rely on the financial support he is offering? The personwould undoubtedly be seen as a front for Babiš's interests.Honest Czech businesspeople of course exist, but the realityon the ground is such that the resources to fund a new politicalmovement would almost inevitably come from people whomade their fortune by stealing assets, buying stolen assets orusing StB/KGB contacts to launch their career. Can we believethat these people have had a sudden change of heart and nowwant to be upstanding citizens? Or, as lawyer Tomáš Richtersuggested in his blog, should we see their belated civic consciousnessmore as an effort on their part to prepare for whenthe political regime in the country changes again?
Glossary of difficult words
scorched earth (policy) - a military strategy that calls for destroying anything that might be useful to an invading enemy force;
readily - without hesitance or reluctance;
front - a person or organization serving as a cover for subversive or illegal activities;
on the ground - in a place where real, practical work is done;
change of heart - a change in one’s mood or feeling;
upstanding - honest; respectable;
belated - coming or happening later than should have been the case.