Final Word from Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Andrej Babiš won't be just another Czech parliamentarian, and public control of him won't take the usual form. He didn't spend Kč 57.5m (or more) of his own money to sell his votes for Kč 10,000 a pop, to buy a condo with his per diems or to lend his official Octavia to his family members. When we think of Babiš, we have to think much bigger. If it's money he wants, we have to think in terms of antitrust legislation, farm subsidies, biofuels, or euro adoption and what these things could mean for his businesses. A key indicator of his intentions will be whether he enters the government, where he will be directly accountable for his actions, or whether he decides to pull the strings from the opposition, without the need for the intermediaries used by people like Petr Kellner and Martin Roman. From the standpoint of public control, it's better that Babiš become Czech PM than vice chair of the House budget committee. [Czech Republic MP Škoda Auto PPF ČEZ Agrofert]
Glossary of difficult words
a pop - costing a specified amount per item;
condo - condominium; an individually owned unit in an apartment building or housing development;
per diem - an allowance or payment made for each day.