Final Word from Tuesday, May 16, 2017
When Pres. Miloš Zeman refused to dismiss Andrej Babiš as finance minister, one reason he gave was that the position would remain vacant, which he said would be extremely irresponsible. Astute observers of Czech politics immediately understood this to mean that, unlike in past such situations, Zeman would under no circumstances ask PM Bohuslav Sobotka to run the ministry until a replacement for Babiš were found. This was probably more than merely spite on Zeman's part. There was already reason to suspect that Sobotka's real objective in creating the government crisis was to produce an atmosphere that allowed him to justify taking personal control of the finance ministry. A question constitutional lawyers will soon be pondering is whether the president is required to appoint the PM to temporarily run a ministry if the PM asks him to do so. Sobotka's lawyers can already start drafting a second jurisdictional complaint to the Constitutional Court. [Czech Republic ANO ČSSD substitute successor]
Glossary of difficult words
astute - having or showing an ability to accurately assess situations or people and turn this to one's advantage;
spite - a desire to hurt, annoy, or offend someone;
to ponder - to think about (something) carefully, esp. before making a decision or reaching a conclusion.