Final Word from Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Miloš Zeman hopes to meet at the White House later this month with Donald Trump, and one possible point of contention has been cleared from the air in advance. No longer can the Trump administration lump the CR into the same category as Germany and claim that the two countries are using their undervalued currencies to compete unfairly. However, at almost the same time that the CNB ended the creeping devaluation of the crown last week, Pres. Miloš Zeman and his ambassador to the U.S., Hynek Kmoníček, added a new item to the list by showing less than full loyalty to Trump by questioning whether Bashar al-Assad was truly responsible for a chemical-weapons attack in Syria. Where does this leave the Trump-Zeman relationship (if there ever was one)? Can two politically incorrect leaders continue to see eye to eye even as their day-to-day policies drift apart? Perhaps Czechs should look to the rocky Trump-Putin relationship for a clue. [Czech Republic Czech National Bank United States Vladimir Russia]
Glossary of difficult words
to lump into/together - to put in an indiscriminate mass or group; to treat as alike without regard for particulars;
creeping - moving slowly and in a way that is impossible to prevent;
to drift - to move passively, aimlessly, or involuntarily into a certain situation or condition;
rocky - difficult and full of problems.