Final Word from Tuesday, January 9, 2024
What happens when a member of an unpopular government promotes an unpopular policy? Do two negatives make a positive? STAN is hoping they do. If 22% of Czechs agree with adopting the euro and 73% are against it, as determined last year by CVVM, there are electoral votes to be gained either by convincing more people overall of the attractiveness of the euro or by luring away voters from other parties who already favor getting rid of the crown. Petr Fiala hasn't shown the best political savvy since becoming PM (ODS hasn't gained any ground in the polls in the past two years), but on the euro he seems to understand better than STAN Chair Vít Rakušan what is at stake. The problem with the euro as a political topic is that the positive aspects of it - eliminating currency-exchange and hedging costs, for example - are set in stone, while the potential negatives are not. Even a minor eurozone banking crisis between now and elections could cause the euro to blow up in Rakušan's face. [ Czech Republic adoption interior minister ]
Glossary of difficult words
to lure - to attract or entice someone or something away (from someone, something or some action);
savvy - shrewdness and practical knowledge; the ability to make good judgements;
to hedge - to protect oneself against loss on (a bet or investment) by making balancing or compensating transactions;
to be set/written/engraved in stone - fixed and unchangeable;
to blow up in one's face - to go wrong in a way that harms or damages the person who initiated the action.