Final Word from Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Czechs will soon get an indication as to whether Andrej Babiš locked onto Věra Jourová as EU commissioner because she is the best woman for the job, or because he wanted to get rid of her. Jourová has nominated her deputy for EU funding, Klára Dostálová, as her successor at the development ministry. Babiš's own newspaper, LN, noted today that Dostálová spent years advising companies on tapping EU funds. This should be a warning sign. Dostálová then moved on to become a poster child for the KAVZ Chamber of Public Contract Administrators, a vehicle run by lawyers Robert Pergl and Radek Pokorný for doing anything but increasing the transparency of public procurement. Jourová told ČT that Dostálová would be a guarantee of continuity at the ministry. If Babiš is bumping Jourová up to Brussels because of the undue influence Pergl and Pokorný have had on her, he would be defeating this purpose by installing Dostálová as her successor. More logical would be for Babiš to be planning another staffing surprise of the kind he recently sprung at ČEZ. [Czech Republic Czech Television European Union]
Glossary of difficult words
ministress - (rare) a female minister;
to lock onto (someone or something) - to firmly focus on; to fasten or grab onto;
poster child - a person or thing that represents a specified quality, cause, etc.;
vehicle - an instrument or medium for accomplishing something;
undue - unwarranted or inappropriate;
to spring (a surprise) - to bring about or cause.