Final Word from Thursday, March 9, 2017
Who will be the first at tomorrow's ČSSD congress to utter the name Miloš Zeman in an official speech? Zeman will announce his candidacy for reelection tonight, and it will be all over the news tomorrow, as ČSSD's two-day event gets under way. Zeman will be the elephant in the room until someone speaks up. Our bet is that the first out of the gate will be Milan Chovanec. His position as first vice chair of ČSSD is even more at risk than that of Chairman Bohuslav Sobotka. Latching on to Zeman might be a workable tactic. Chovanec has in effect already done this by saying in Deník on Sat. that he doesn't see any other person for ČSSD to support than Zeman. And how might Sobotka react? If he insists on including Zeman in an internal party referendum, he will be the party pooper who deflates Chovanec's balloon. And if Zeman says tonight (or in the near future) that he won't allow his name to be included in any such referendum, who will Sobotka then put up for president when there is no one else for ČSSD? Chovanec sees the writing on the wall. Why can't Sobotka? [Czech Republic presidency conference Brno]
Glossary of difficult words
the elephant in the room - a major problem or controversial issue which is obviously present but is avoided as a subject for discussion;
first out of the gate - the first to do something that others are trying to do;
to latch on to - to attach oneself to (someone) as a constant and usually unwelcome companion;
party pooper - a person who throws gloom over social enjoyment;
to deflate someone's balloon - to make someone seem less important;
to put someone up (for a position) - to nominate someone;
writing on the wall - a clear indication of what is going to happen, often involving failure or disaster.