Final Word from Wednesday, June 29, 2022
Six years ago, the center-right opposition petitioned for a special session of Parliament to address the Stork's Nest matter, and Speaker of the House Jaroslava Jermanová of ANO dutifully complied. Finance Min. Andrej Babiš of ANO, against whom the session was targeted, initially opposed the effort by the opposition but then embraced it. He used his time at the podium to bring up the past sins of the politicians attacking him. Czech TV broadcast the event live with the caption, "Special Session about the Stork's Nest Affair." If ČT applies the same yardstick next Thur., when a new special session is scheduled, it will have to write in its lower third, "Special Session about the Organized Crime of STAN." The current opposition (ANO, SPD) petitioned for a session with this agenda, and House Speaker Markéta Pekarová Adamová of TOP 09 dutifully complied. STAN could rightly consider this libelous. It hasn't been convicted of anything, much less organized crime. If Pekarová were more experienced at politics, she would have refused such an agenda. But she isn't, and now STAN and organized crime will be forever linked. [ Czech Republic Petr Hlubuček DPP Dp Praha VZP ]
Glossary of difficult words
to petition - to make a formal written request, typically one signed by many people, appealing to authority in respect of a particular cause;
dutifully - in a conscientious or obedient manner;
to comply - to act in accordance with a wish or command;
to embrace - to accept (a belief, theory or change) willingly and enthusiastically;
by the same yardstick - by the same standard;
libelous - containing a published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation.