Final Word from Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Polls show that Karel Schwarzenberg remains a strong draw among young voters, esp. in Prague. For his popularity to remain so high nine months after the presidential elections is an admirable feat, given what has happened in the meantime. The government of Petr Nečas fell, and Miroslav Kalousek quickly became Miloš Zeman's top target, but little of the crossfire landed on Schwarzenberg. OKD then became one of the leading election topics, yet Schwarzenberg's business and political dealings with its owner didn't register as a major issue. Most recently, Právo reported that Schwarzenberg wants to be lenient in returning church assets, but the story went nowhere. Jiří Rusnok complained of not being teflon-enough; Schwarzenberg got a double coating. He never attained the presidency and never will, but so far he's managing somehow to go out more gracefully than either of his two main rivals. [Czech Republic TOP 09 Václav Klaus Zdeněk Bakala]
Glossary of difficult words
teflon/Teflon - a nickname given to a person in politics to whom criticism does not stick;
a draw - a person or thing that is very attractive;
crossfire - gunfire from two or more directions passing through the same area; a situation in which two or more groups are attacking each other or arguing;
to go nowhere - not to become an issue;
double coating - two layers of a substance or material, one applied over the other.