Final Word from Thursday, December 19, 2013
In the Christmas classic "It's a Wonderful Life," James Stewart's character is saved from suicide by his guardian angel, who descends from heaven to show him all the lives he has touched. If anyone has been watching over Bohuslav Sobotka on his potentially suicidal mission to become premier, it's Miroslav Kalousek. Think about it. It was the flip-flop by Kalousek and Karel Schwarzenberg on the Nagyová matter that forced Petr Nečas to resign; Kalousek then joined with Sobotka to deny Jiří Rusnok a confidence vote and to provoke early elections; although Kalousek was one of the big losers, he insisted on a calm transfer of power from the Right to the Left; he defended Sobotka against the power grab by Michal Hašek and Miloš Zeman; and he is now keeping Andrej Babiš at bay by harping on about the conflicts of interest. If Sobotka becomes PM, he will owe his wonderful life to the devil incarnate, Miroslav Kalousek. [Czech Republic Jana TOP 09 ČSSD ANO KDU-ČSL film movie Agrofert government]
Glossary of difficult words
flip-flop - an abrupt reversal of policy or opinion;
power grab - an attempt to attain power in an illegal, unorthodox or unscrupulous way;
at bay - at a distance; at arm's length;
to harp on about - to dwell on, to keep talking about;
incarnate - in human form, personified.