Final Word from Wednesday, December 27, 2023
Pres. Petr Pavel called on people on Fri. not to use the shooting at Charles University on Thur. for political or other improper purposes and said his appeal applies to everyone. It was already too late to rein in Interior Min. Vít Rakušan of STAN. He's trying to extract as much political capital from the situation as possible. Martin Zvěřina of LN wondered whether Rakušan used the word "disinformation" 100 times or 1,000 times and said that there was no reason for it. Rakušan didn't mean it in a bad way, Zvěřina said, but merely lives in a world of paranoia. Yet Rakušan is also the chairman of the political party with the most scandals. Not only is there the Dosimeter criminal case, which is getting close to the Castle, but also the questionable energy deals of Industry Min. Jozef Síkela. Rakušan's paranoia helps to distract from these serious issues. The big question is whether Rakušan is an accomplice or merely a patsy who is being encouraged to stir up the paranoia by those with something to hide. [ Czech Republic Lidové noviny mass murder killing corruption Jan Dobrovský Hlubuček Lysolaje approaches approaching ]
Glossary of difficult words
patsy - a person who is easily taken advantage of, esp. by being cheated or blamed for something;
to rein in - to keep under control; to restrain;
to extract - to obtain or derive;
to distract - to divert (attention) from something.