Final Word from Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Accusing the president of a democracy of refusing to leave office voluntarily if he isn't reelected is one of the most politically charged statements another official can make. U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi did just this in the New York Times. She's a politician and wanted to rally Democratic voters by warning against Donald Trump's autocratic tendencies. Chief Justice Pavel Rychetský of the Constitutional Court isn't a politician but made a similar statement last week. He told Respekt that he is very fearful that a ruling by his Court might not be carried out by those affected. It was clearly aimed at Pres. Miloš Zeman's unwillingness to remove Culture Min. Antonín Staněk and was one of the most politically charged statements a high-court justice could make. The law on the Constitutional Court provides for taking disciplinary action against a justice who "lowers the esteem and dignity of his or her position." However, at least three justices must file such a disciplinary motion. The chance of this is about the same as that Andrej Babiš will file a competence complaint against Zeman in the Staněk matter. [ Czech Republic ČSSD Republican Democrats presidential elections United States ]