Final Word from Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Who will become the face of repression, we asked on April 16? Whose picture will be on the Orwellian posters demanding, KEEP YOUR DISTANCE? Andrej Babiš skedaddled from the role of Chief Repression Officer as soon as he learned that public opinion was going against the restrictions. Jan Hamáček also deftly maneuvered around the landmines. That left Col. Roman Prymula as the voice of rigidity, a role that fit his demeanor perfectly, but he too is decamping soon. Up steps Rastislav Maďar, a Slovak epidemiologist and MBA who was worried about a mass assault on hair salons, so he saw to it that the stylists had to have a double layer of suffocating protection. He's the ideal candidate for shutting down the economy again if there's a second coronavirus wave, because he never really wanted to reopen the economy in the first place. He always has statistics available to make his case, but just as in 1984, none of them stand up under closer scrutiny. The lie becomes the truth. [ Czech Republic George Slovakia deputy health minister ]
Glossary of difficult words
to skedaddle - to depart quickly or hurriedly;
deftly - in a clever way;
rigidity - unwillingness to be adaptable in outlook, belief or response;
demeanor - outward behavior or bearing;
to decamp - to leave a place suddenly or secretly; to break up or leave a military camp;
to stand up - (of an argument, claim, evidence, etc.) to remain valid after close scrutiny or analysis;
scrutiny - critical observation or examination.