Final Word from Wednesday, August 19, 2015
A week is an eternity in politics, and a few eternities ago Bohuslav Sobotka was riding high. He and his inner circle were on their way to becoming the gatekeepers to key parts of the economy. Then it started to rain on their parade. Sobotka's predilection for PPF in the toll tender became obvious, culminating yesterday in a decision that makes the PM unable to deliver. Zdeněk Bakala's exit from RPG Byty reopened a festering wound, much to the delight of Pavol Krúpa the greenmailer. Bribe-taking at Česká pošta crippled Sobotka's muscleman, Milan Chovanec, and exposed the PR team operating in the shadows. Analysts and journalists woke up to the sham called Sobotka's internal party referendum. Even the New York Times conspired against Sobotka, running a shocking story about Amazon that makes Sobotka look decidedly un-Social Democratic for doing so much to attract so many crappy jobs. Sobotka has seen better days. [Czech Republic interior ministry minister Arca Capital SkyToll OKD apartments Bison & Rose public relations]
Glossary of difficult words
to ride high - to enjoy success;
gatekeeper - a person or thing that controls access to something;
to rain on someone's parade - to spoil something for someone;
predilection - a bias in favor of something; a preference or special liking for something;
to deliver - (in this context) to provide what is promised or expected;
to fester - to become worse and worse;
muscleman - a large, strong man, esp. one employed to protect someone or to intimidate people;
sham - a thing that is not what is it purported to be;
crappy - of extremely poor quality.