Final Word from Thursday, April 5, 2012
Is Miroslav Kalousek calling VV's bluff, or is he bluffing too? Of all the political players, Kalousek seems to be the only one who truly wants early elections (al- though he of course states publicly that he doesn't). The theory of many commenta- tors is that TOP 09 has more to gain from an early vote than VV or ODS, but perhaps the better way to look at it is that TOP has less to lose if the coalition government ends now. Kalousek is in a race against time, but the time constraint isn't any lon- ger the direct presidential elections that were going to lift Karel Schwarzenberg to the Castle and render him off bounds in the next parliamentary campaign. No, the time constraint now is Schwarzenberg himself. He looks increasingly tired, and his speech is increasingly slurred. The longer TOP must wait for elections, the less it will be able to rely on its main asset to maintain a grueling campaign schedule.[Czech Republic Věci veřejné]
Glossary of difficult words
to call someone's bluff - to challenge someone thought to be bluffing;
constraint - a limitation or restriction;
off bounds/out of bounds/off limits - outside the limits of what is permitted;
to slur - to speak indistinctly so that the sounds run into one another;
grueling - extremely tiring and demanding.