Final Word from Monday, December 5, 2011
If Bohuslav Svoboda keeps flying at his current speed and altitude, he could be ODS'scandidate for president in 2013. When this idea was first floated six weeks ago, itbombed, because it was seen as a way for Prague "godfather" Tomáš Hrdlička to kickSvoboda upstairs and to get him out of the way at city hall. Since then, Svoboda'sstreet cred has shot up, and he's beginning to be seen as a natural leader. Unless hestumbles, he could beat Přemysl Sobotka and Miroslava Němcová in an ODS primary.In the main election, he could hold his own against Karel Schwarzenberg of TOP 09and, say, Jan Švejnar of ČSSD. In a normal situation, a backroom deal might then allowone of them to prevail. More likely, though, is that a "crisis" candidate will emergein the second or third set of balloting. And, like in Greece and Italy, the smart moneywill be on the candidate of the international bankers, which in this case is Jan Fischer.
Glossary of difficult words
to float an idea - to put forward an idea as a suggestion or test of reactions;
to bomb - to fail miserably;
street cred - (street credibility) commanding a level of respect within a given community (originally among black urban youth) due to experience or knowledge affecting that environment;
to hold one's own - to retain a position of strength in a challenging situation; to fare respectably well;
smart money - money bet or invested by people with expert knowledge.