Final Word from Tuesday, February 5, 2008
If you compare today's newspapers with those from five years ago, you'll notice a distinct similarity. Miroslav Šlouf, an adviser to Miloš Zeman, was running around in early 2003 looking for presidential votes, and there was talk of bags of money changing hands. The big difference now is that Zeman has put his right-hand man, Šlouf, to work for Václav Klaus. Zeman might harbor demented hope that he could become a ninth-inning presidential candidate by keeping his name in the game, but the more pressing issue for him is to make sure an outsider doesn't stage a coup at the Castle and start reopening "opposition-agreement" deals. It's rarely mentioned, but the next president will preside over the expiration of the statute of limitations on the last crimes from this sordid period. Only after all is finally forgiven from a legal standpoint can Zeman hug trees in the highlands in full repose.[Czech Republic]
Glossary of difficult words
to harbor - to keep something in one's mind;
demented - insane, crazy;
ninth-inning - (baseball) coming at the end of the game or at the last possible moment; eleventh-hour;
to keep one's name in the game - to remain a player, continue to be mentioned in a given context;
statue of limitations - a statute setting a period of limitation for bringing legal action;
sordid - involving ignoble acts and motives, morally degraded;
in full repose - in a fully relaxed manner.