Final Word from Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Lubomír Zaorálek of ČSSD pulls no punches and said the church-
restitution law is designed to make the theft of state assets
possible. The churches are supposed to be an instrument for
building mafia capitalism, he said, and another goal of the law is
to keep the godfathers alive. This is heavy stuff coming from the
second of the "opposition agreement" parties. The big question
many people are asking is why ODS and TOP 09 didn't just cut a
deal with ČSSD on church restitution? They're too greedy, is the
often response. The same questions apply to the tax changes.
ČSSD's lawmakers would have little trouble voting for the higher
taxes on the rich but are vehemently against the VAT hike. So
why didn't the cabinet just do some kind of deal with ČSSD?
Could it be because ODS and TOP also see higher VAT as a way
to make the theft of state assets possible ... and don't want to
share with ČSSD on this either?[Czech Republic value-added tax]
Glossary of difficult words
to pull one's punches (usually used with negative) - to be less forceful, severe or violent than one could be;
heavy stuff - serious or strong information or criticism, going beyond what is usual.