Final Word from Monday, January 29, 2024
No one in Czech politics whines better than ex-PM Andrej Babiš of ANO, but Senate Pres. Miloš Vystrčil of ODS is starting to give him a run for his money. He told Czech TV on Thur. that he's disappointed that the Istanbul Convention didn't pass in the ratification vote that day and that he thought the Senate was better prepared to deal with the untruthful statements used against the Convention by its opponents. He thereby questioned the qualifications of many of his fellow lawmakers. It was a rare occasion when the head of the upper chamber of Parliament felt he had to defend something that was rejected not only by the Senate as a whole, but also by his own party. When this happened under different circumstances in Oct. to U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, the Republicans promptly sacked him. There are no signs that the Czech Senate plans such a move. Interestingly, of those in the Senate's current leadership, only VP Jiří Oberfalzer of ODS voted with the majority. [ Czech Republic Televison house vice chairman Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence ]
Glossary of difficult words
to whine - to complain, moan or grumble;
to give someone a run for his or her money - to be as good at something as someone who is extremely good;
to sack - to fire; to remove from a position.