Final Word from Wednesday, May 3, 2017
What was so seriously wrong that PM Bohuslav Sobotka decided to submit the cabinet's resignation to Pres. Miloš Zeman and to throw the government and entire country into a state of uncertainty? Andrej Babiš's tax-free bonds? His unexplained takeover of Agrofert two decades ago? This is tasty fodder for the masses, but not for serious students of Czech politics. Either Sobotka had no other way out of the trap he was in and had to do something desperate, or there was another hidden reason for resigning. Yesterday we suggested that the loss of control over ČEZ could be at the root of everything. Andrej Babiš himself used full-page advertisements in the major dailies to indicate that the privatization of OKD could be the cause. Regardless of the real reason for Sobotka's action, there is one easily identifiable key performance indicator. If Babiš is still the finance minister in a month or so, or if one of his proxies is, Sobotka will have failed miserably. [Czech Republic president]
Glossary of difficult words
tasty - (of food) having a pleasant, distinct flavor; very attractive or appealing;
fodder - food, especially dried hay or straw, for cattle and other livestock; a person or thing regarded only as material for a specific use;
key performance indicator - a quantifiable measure used to evaluate the success of an organization, employee, etc. in meeting objectives for performance;
proxy - a person authorized to act on behalf of another.