Final Word from Monday, September 9, 2013
In election campaigns there are lies, half-lies and complete stupidities, as well as the occasional truths. The flat-out lies are often the hardest to identify. Was TOP 09 knowingly lying when it said in 2010 that it didn't want to raise taxes? Only Miroslav Kalousek knows. The half-lies are the bread and butter of many campaigns. ODS, for example, is trying to convince us that it was a victim - not a co-perpetrator - of TOP's tax increases. ČSSD, for its part, keeps pretending that Bohuslav Sobotka will be the next PM, when everyone knows that it largely depends on how many votes SPOZ takes away from it. And speaking of SPOZ, it's claiming that the use of a Miloš Zeman postage stamp in its ads doesn't amount to presidential campaigning for the party. Vice Chair Vladimír Kruliš of SPOZ said that if we accepted this, we would have to view every Zeman stamp used by people to send a letter as campaign promotion for SPOZ. It's complete stupidity, but apparently SPOZ thinks that lowering the bar to primary-school level is now the way to power. [Czech Republic early elections]
Glossary of difficult words
flat-out - out-and-out; unequivocal; without hesitation or reservation;
bread and butter - the essential sustaining element or elements; the mainstay;
perpetrator - the one responsible for committing or perpetrating an act;
to lower the bar - to set a lower standard.