Final Word from Tuesday, July 15, 2014
When Pres. Miloš Zeman has lunch next Mon. with the cabinet, he can discuss the country's foreign policy. Or should we say, the country's foreign policies? The Czechs have often had multiple foreign policies, esp. when the foreign ministry and the Castle were occupied by different parties or ideologies. Václav Klaus didn't see eye to eye with Karel Schwarzenberg on EU integration, for example, and Schwarzenberg didn't like the way Zeman was cozying up to Eastern dictators. Zeman has found surprising consensus with Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek, but where the discrepancy now lies is within ČSSD itself. Part of its membership wants to emphasize European and transatlantic relations, and part wants to move closer to Russia. Instead of choosing between the two, Zaorálek and PM Bohuslav Sobotka are trying to walk a tightrope between them. Sobotka ends up opposing increased Nato presence or defending it, depending on whom he speaks to. Can anyone really state with clarity what Czech foreign policy is today? And does anyone really care? [Czech Republic ODS TOP 09 European Union]
Glossary of difficult words
to see eye to eye - to have similar views or attitudes toward something; to be in full agreement;
to cozy up to someone - to ingratiate oneself to someone; to become friendly or intimate with someone;
to walk a tightrope - to do a balancing act; to act carefully to avoid creating enemies or a dangerous situation.