Final Word from Thursday, August 30, 2012
The only candidate who can possibly prevent Miloš Zeman from
becoming the next Czech president is Jan Švejnar. Jan Fischer is
still leading in the polls, but once the televised debates begin,
Zeman will walk all over him. Fischer is the candidate for
everybody and nobody; he'll speak eloquently about everything
under the sun between now and election day, but voters won't
learn anything specific about what he thinks or would do in
office. Švejnar is better, if only slightly. He's wishy-washy, and
many of his economic insights are banal and often miss the big
picture of what is happening in the world. Švejnar's connections
to one interest group (ČSOB-Bakala-Pokorný) also raise
concerns. But if Zeman is the obvious "Russian" candidate for
president, Švejnar is the obvious "Euro-American" one. And in
these elections, the single biggest issue is East or West. So make
your choice, Gazprom or ČSOB.[Czech Republic Zdeněk Radek]
Glossary of difficult words
to walk all over someone - to defeat someone easily;
under the sun - in existence (emphasizing the large quantity of something);
wishy-washy - indecisive; lacking strength or boldness;
big picture - the complete view of something.