Final Word from Tuesday, June 18, 2019
Early on as supreme state prosecutor, Pavel Zeman established himself as a tough defender of the state's interests by asserting that the sale of 46% of MUS coal mines in 1999 was a privatization crime subject to a 20-year statute of limitations. Karel Hvížďala reported on Czech Radio in 2012 that Zeman's interpretation of the law with regard to MUS was a fundamental turning point that could apply to all similar privatizations. In Lidové noviny today, Martin Shabu confronted Zeman by saying that, "During your time in office, the statute of limitations for most privatization transactions will expire." Zeman responded by saying that he doesn't have statistics available but has the impression that the courts have dealt with more than just MUS and OKD (the two cases mentioned by Shabu). Zeman still has time in some cases to act, but without statistics available, it's hard not to have the impression that he rode into town on a high horse and then sat by as the clock ran out. [ Czech Republic Mostecká uhelná LN ]
Glossary of difficult words
Correction - The tense of the following sentence has been corrected: "During your time in office, the statute of limitations for most privatization transactions has expired."
early on - at an early stage in a period;
statute of limitations - a law prescribing a period of time for bringing actions of certain kinds;
on a high horse - having an attitude of moral superiority;
to sit by - to take no action in order to prevent something undesirable from occurring.