Final Word from Wednesday, July 17, 2013
The Supreme Court's decision yesterday in favor of three arrested ex-MPs is a potential disaster for Miloš Zeman. His carefully orchestrated presidential coup risks falling apart. Much now depends on how well Miroslav Kalousek can reconstruct in his mind the events surrounding the awarding of posts in state companies to the three MPs. If Kalousek is confident that his scheming with Petr Nečas took place in Parliament and therefore falls within the newly defined bounds of parliamentary immunity, he will be liberated from the sword of Damocles that has been dangling over his head. Without the threat of having his immunity lifted, he can support early elections and deal a blow not only to Zeman but also to his rival on the Right, ODS. Kalousek's best move is probably to seek a delay of a few days in today's vote on dissolving Parliament so that he can ponder the best way to take revenge on Zeman.[Czech Republic Petr Tluchoř Ivan Fuksa Marek Šnajdr Šnajder TOP 09 dissolution]
Glossary of difficult words
what he knew and when he knew it - used to refer to the potential culpability or guilt of a person because of when he became aware of illegal behavior and how he dealt with such knowledge;
sword of Damocles - used to refer to a precarious or risky situation;
to dangle - to hang or swing loosely;
to deal (a blow) - to inflict;
to ponder - to think about something carefully, esp. before making a decision or reaching a conclusion.