Final Word from Monday, April 21, 2008
It's increasingly likely, declared the Financial Times recently, that the public's tolerance of income inequality and free-market capitalism will wear thin. In the Czech context, this is showing itself not only in the usual comments by the Communist Party ("the CR is in crisis"), but also in a weekend tirade by MP Ludvík Hovorka of KDU-ČSL, who said that the dictatorship of the proletariat in the CR has been replaced by the dictatorship of capitalism. Czechs have seen the ownership of the means of production become consolidated into the hands of foreigners and domestic oligarchs in a remarkably short time and are now about to see the same happen - under the usual foggy conditions - to health insurers, hospitals, ČSA and Prague Airport, if the Topolánek-Kalousek team gets its way. The question, to paraphrase the FT, is what will happen if the public decides that enough is enough?[Czech Republic medical insurance companies Czech Airlines Letiště Praha privatization Miroslav Mirek]
Glossary of difficult words
income inequality - disparities in levels of income among individuals in the economy;
to wear thin - to be gradually used up or become less convincing or acceptable;
tirade - a long, angry speech of criticism or accusation;
oligarch - members of a small group of people having control of a country, organization or institution (usually used in the context of Russia);
foggy - indistinctly expressed or perceived, obscure, vague.