Final Word from Friday, February 29, 2008



A well-informed reader told us that Václav Klaus has never said a positive thing in public about Mirek Topolánek. Admittedly, we haven't been able to review all of Klaus's statements, but we haven't found anything so far to prove our reader wrong. Yesterday was no exception. Klaus indirectly criticized Topolánek for awarding medals to the Mašín brothers. Klaus essentially said that he wouldn't have done it. Analysts generally assume that Topolánek and Klaus agreed on some sort of non-aggression pact prior to the presidential elections. The question has been how long such a pact can survive, given the deep animosity the two reportedly feel for each other. The fact that Topolánek made it to the coveted Oval Office before Klaus did certainly can't help. And if Topolánek continues with his take-no-prisoner style of politics (radar, visas, Mašíns, meal tickets), it will increasingly be easy for Klaus to break the pact while making Topolánek look like the villain.[Czech Republic Josef Ctirad Czechoslovakia anti-Communist resistance White House George W. Bush]

Glossary of difficult words

crack - a partial split or break;

Mašín brothers - members of the anti-Communist resistance who escaped from Czechoslovkia in 1953 and killed six people in the process;

animosity - strong hostility;

coveted - strongly desired; Klaus has met on several occasions with Bush but never at the White House;

take-no-prisoner - ruthlessly aggressive or uncompromising in pursuing one's objectives;

radar, U.S. visa-waiver, medals for the Mašíns, abolishing tax breaks for meal tickets - all are issues that have been pushed by Topolánek but hotly contested by the opposition;

villain - a person guilty or capable of a crime or wickedness.

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