Final Word from Monday, August 10, 2015
Bohuslav Sobotka walked into a minefield last week when he criticized Zdeněk Bakala for his "moral lapse" in selling the OKD apartments to someone other than the tenants. Nearly the entire non-Bakala media reminded Sobotka that he was the one who gave Bakala the chance 11 years ago to commit this moral lapse. Sobotka was widely maligned for such false indignation, but it wasn't the first time he publicly challenged Bakala. When Bakala gave Kč 28.5m in 2010 to ODS, TOP 09 and VV, Sobotka took umbrage at the way the announcement was held back until after the elections. Such information would have been especially useful for the OKD tenants to hear during the campaign, he said. This, too, sounded bold at the time. Yet in retrospect, it rings just as false. Sobotka has had five years since then to nail Bakala to the cross for violating the privatization contract, but all he's done is release one more ineffectual press statement. [Czech Republic RPG Byty flats Domus contributions]
Glossary of difficult words
minefield - a subject or situation presenting unseen hazards;
lapse - a temporary failure of concentration, memory or judgment;
to malign someone - to speak about someone in a spiteful or critical manner;
indignation - anger or annoyance at what is perceived as unfair treatment;
umbrage - offense or annoyance;
to nail someone to a/the cross - to punish or scold someone severely;
ineffectual - not producing any or the desired result.