Final Word from Monday, February 12, 2024
PM Petr Fiala has been under attack from STAN for the past month and desperately needs to turn things around. He got a boost yesterday from a Kantar poll for Czech TV that shows that STAN hasn't benefited from its stunts so far and has instead lost some ground. Its poll rating fell from 7.0% in Nov. to 6.5% in Jan. At the same time, ODS jumped from 12.5% to 15.5%. ANO is still far ahead, at 35.0% (up from 34.5%), but ODS's key political battle now is with STAN, not ANO. If Fiala can't regain control of the coalition, there won't be a fair battle with Andrej Babiš. Fiala is apparently benefiting from the same phenomenon that appeared just before the presidential elections. When Danuše Nerudová jumped in front in a Median poll in early Dec. 2022, some supporters of Babiš and Petr Pavel came together to make sure she didn't advance to the second round. The strategy worked, and Nerudová came in third. By the same token, Vít Rakušan of STAN has now been punished for trying to displace Fiala. [ Czech Republic Television ]
Glossary of difficult words
stunt - something unusual done to attract attention;
by the same token - in the same way or for the same reason;
to displace - to take over the place, position or role of; to remove (someone) from a job or position of authority.