Final Word from Thursday, November 10, 2011
Martin Kocourek's resignation yesterday as industry minister shares a theme with TVPrima's new sitcom "About My Family and Other Corpses" but was much more inspirational.Kocourek told a heartbreaking tale of personal tragedy and lost love but alsoan uplifting one of amazing business acumen. He said he earned about Kč 10m in twoyears from business and economic consulting, which no doubt made him at the timeone of the CR's best-paid business advisers. And of course none of this came from anyshady deals in sunny places with ČEZ or any gambling operator, he assured us. It's incrediblethat Kocourek would leave such a profitable business career to enter the governmentsector, and such self-sacrifice can only be compared to the way partners ofGoldman Sachs leave Wall Street to save the world in Washington. Instead of kickinga corpse (as the Czechs say), we should thank Kocourek for his service to the country.
Glossary of difficult words
satire - in case you could not tell, this is political satire;
uplifting - inspiring, stirring, touching;
acumen - the ability to make good judgments and quick decisions;
shady - of doubtful honesty or legality;
kicking a corpse - continuing to criticize someone or something that is already a dead issue; flogging a dead horse.