Final Word from Tuesday, January 7, 2020
Just as Harvey Weinstein was going to trial, Pavel Rychetský condemned himself to another three years as chief justice of the Constitutional Court. The default expectation is that an elected or appointed official will complete his or her time in office, and Rychetský's statement last week that he now intends to serve out his 10-year second term is only news because he was part of a plot to allow a handful of judges to divvy up positions at the top of the Czech judicial system. Rychetský was the guru who was to make it all happen by retiring early. When Pres. Miloš Zeman balked at this, the other two spurned judges, Josef Baxa and Vojtěch Šimíček, started crying like Hollywood starlets about inappropriate pressure. Rychetský is now bringing this #JusticniMeToo episode to a close. He's punishing Zeman, but revenge has a personal cost. He'll have to complete his term without any assurance that the next president will be any more receptive to his judicial nominations than Zeman is. [ Czech Republic #MeToo judiciary justice ]
Glossary of difficult words
to divvy (up) - to divide or share something;
to balk - to hesitate or be unwilling to accept an idea or undertaking;
to spurn - to reject with disdain or contempt;
starlet - a young actress with aspirations to become a star;
receptive - willing to consider or accept new suggestions and ideas.