Final Word from Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Saving the potentially wasted votes on the Left is the driving force behind the deal announced yesterday between Stačilo!/Enough! and SocDem. The thinking of Stačilo!'s counterpart on the Right, SPD and its partners, is the same, and if their strategies work, the next PM almost certainly won't be Petr Fiala of ODS. Whether it's Andrej Babiš of ANO depends on several factors, including Babiš's asset situation and Pres. Petr Pavel's post-election whims. That's the immediate outlook. Longer-term, the situation is cloudier. ANO is a one-man show, as his critics like to say, and Babiš will soon be 72. He would be by far the oldest Czech PM. What will he do when he says, "Stačilo!," and leaves politics? Watch ANO fall apart without its micromanaging one-man leader? Or sell it to another oligarch, like maybe Pavel Tykač or Marek Španěl, who are firmly on the Right? Who will be there to catch the center-left voters of this catch-all party? If she plays her cards well, it could be SocDem Chair Jana Maláčová. [ Czech Republic Parlamentní listy Echo Vít Rakušan KSČ ČSSD ]
Glossary of difficult words
Stačilo! - Czech for "Enough!";
whim - a sudden desire or change of mind, esp. one that is unusual or unexplained;
outlook - the prospect for the future;
to micromanage - to control every part, however small, of (an enterprise or activity);
catch-all party - a political party having members covering a broad spectrum of beliefs.