Final Word from Thursday, December 14, 2017
Who discredits the Czech Constitution more, the president by appointing a prima facie minority government that does not have pre-arranged support or tolerance, or those who want us to believe that this is somehow unconstitutional? So far, Miloš Zeman and Andrej Babiš have followed the Constitution to the letter. If and when they violate it, they should be castigated and penalized to the full extent possible. Until then, it's all politics. As part of this increasingly acerbic political game, some analysts, journalists and politicians are disguising themselves as democrats and dishonoring their Constitution in support of their own self-interested vision of the world. Zeman devoted so much time yesterday to these naysayers because he knows that this situation plays right into his hands. As long as he follows the Constitution, his opponents can do little more than produce self-incriminating slurs. And then some of them will accept seats in Babiš's "unconstitutional" government. [Czech Republic cabinet]
Glossary of difficult words
prima facie - based on the first impression; accepted as correct until proved otherwise;
to castigate - to reprimand (someone) severely;
acerbic - bitter and sharp, esp. in speech, manner or temper;
naysayer - a refuser; someone who opposes or votes against something;
slur - an insinuation or allegation about someone that is likely to insult him or her or damage his or her reputation;
self-incriminating - tending to implicate oneself or to make oneself appear guilty of a crime or wrongdoing.