Final Word from Tuesday, March 25, 2014
When Miloš Zeman goes on the soapbox about one of his favorite subjects, such as the stupidity of journalists or the virtue of putting the Nečas government out of its misery, he influences public opinion. In this same way he played a key role in forming the common view that Karolína Peake was an incompetent eight-day defense minister. We can't have another Peake at the ministry, he declared before agreeing to appoint Martin Stropnický as the new minister. Many Czechs already had a firm view of Peake - she had a 23% approval rating before taking over at Defense - but it was her firing by PM Petr Nečas that finally did her in politically. Seven months after leaving politics, she has told MFD's magazine that she was fired because Jana Nagyová (now Nečas's wife) thought she would be too independent. By trying to choose her own co-workers, for example, or by perhaps looking into why Nagyová was using Military Intelligence to keep tabs on Nečas's wife. If the world were fair, once Nagyová gets convicted, Peake would be partially rehabilitated. [Czech Republic LIDEM VV Nečasová]
Glossary of difficult words
to go on the soapbox - to speak one's views passionately or self-importantly;
to put someone out of his misery - to end the suffering of someone by killing him or her;
to do someone in - to kill; to injure or harm;
to keep tabs on someone - to monitor the activities of; to keep under observation.