Final Word from Wednesday, September 8, 2021
Ex-PM Bohuslav Sobotka returned to the airways last night to denounce authoritarians and populists. He hit many of the main talking points of the democratic center: No Czech government of the past, whether on the left or the right, dared to encumber the country with a significant amount of debt, because they felt a certain degree of responsibility toward the state; democracy gets destroyed once undemocratic, authoritarian movements compete on the same playing field as the democratic parties; democracy in Central Europe is on the defensive and is under pressure from authoritarians; the public media and the courts must be strong enough and independent enough to resist the pressure and to survive; the parliamentary elections in one month will in effect determine only one thing - whether the Czech Republic takes the path of Hungary and Poland, or whether it does not. At the young age of (almost) 50, Bohuslav Sobotka is seeking to take the path of elder statesman. [ Czech Republic OVM Václav Moravec Czech TV Fokus autocrat Andrej Babiš Miloš Zeman ]
Glossary of difficult words
to denounce - publicly to declare to be wrong or evil;
talking point - a fact or feature that aids or supports one side, as in an argument or competition;
to encumber - to restrict or impede (someone or something) in such a way that free action or movement is difficult.