Final Word from Thursday, January 4, 2024
It's common for PM Petr Fiala to be compared to his namesake ex-PM Petr Nečas, but what about comparing Fiala to his foreign-policy role model, Joe Biden? The Financial Times quoted Charlie Cook, an experienced American non-partisan political analyst, as saying that there are "unnerving signs for Democrats that voters have soured on Biden for good, with little that the White House or the campaign will be able to do to shift sentiment." Biden's approval ratings are "stubbornly negative," and Cook said he wonders whether people have "just changed the channel - they've just written him off." Sound familiar? Yet in the case of both Biden and Fiala, it's taboo to talk about finding a replacement, even as the grumbling gets louder. Fiala's advisers have taken a new tack by creating a special logo for him that mentions neither ODS nor the Spolu coalition. They want to create a cult of personality that makes Fiala untouchable. It will also make it easier to erase him when the time comes. [ Czech Republic Democratic Party Together KDU-ČSL TOP 09 ]
Glossary of difficult words
to be in dire straits - to be in a very difficult situation;
namesake - a person or thing that has the same name as another;
non-partisan - not biased or partisan, esp. towards any particular political group;
unnerving - causing someone to feel less confident and slightly frightened;
to sour on someone or something - to stop liking or being interested in (something), or to cause (someone) to stop liking or being interested in (something);
to grumble - to complain about something in a bad-tempered way;
tack - a method of dealing with a situation or problem; a course of action or policy.