Final Word from Thursday, March 14, 2024
Andrej Babiš is in trouble again with the ruling coalition and its favored media, this time for sending an email to his staff seeking information on Foreign Min. Jan Lipavský and his family. If a business-related email that was sent by Babiš to his staff had been made public, and not a political one, the response would be much different, even if the content were similar. No one would be very surprised if Babiš demanded dirt on a takeover target and its owners or managers. The scandal would instead be that Babiš was still involved in Agrofert or Hartenberg business, not that he gathers "files" on his business rivals. The most important revelation of the email about Lipavský is that it shows how much Babiš - and not his PR team or underlings - is running the show in ANO on a daily basis. This should scare the daylights out of his political rivals, because it means that Babiš never stops and gets personally involved in the nuts and bolts of politics as much as he did in the creation of a business empire. [ Czech Republic holding Pirates compromising material information ]
Glossary of difficult words
dirt - information about someone's activities or private life that could prove damaging if revealed;
revelation - a surprising and previously unknown fact that has been disclosed to others;
underling - a person lower in status or rank;
to run the show - to dominate or be in charge of an undertaking or area of activity;
to scare the (living) daylights out of someone - to scare someone to a great extent;
the nuts and bolts - the basic practical details.