Final Word from Thursday, January 15, 2026
One opposition heavy hitter after another took to the rostrum on Tues. and Wed. to reject the new government of Andrej Babiš. Petr Fiala, as the ex-PM and outgoing ODS chairman, led the charge in a sort of swan song. He sharply criticized the new government's foreign policy, but without mentioning Donald Trump or the impact Trump's policies are having on the new Czech government. Instead of blaming the shift in the CR's Ukraine policy on Trump, Fiala missed the point by indirectly attributing it to Vladimir Putin. Conspicuously absent from the confirmation debate so far is the expected new chairman of ODS, Martin Kupka. Perhaps he'll surprise everyone today by giving a perspicacious speech that explains what is happening in the world, where the Babiš government fits into it, and the role the opposition should play. More likely, though, is that ODS will just swap its Biden-like Fiala this weekend for the Harris-like Kupka, and the Trump-like Babiš will keep doing his thing without any real opposition. [ Czech Republic United States Kamala Joe vote of confidence Parliament Russia war ]
Glossary of difficult words
heavy hitter - an important or powerful person;
rostrum - a raised platform on which a person stands to make a public speech, receive an award or medal, play music or conduct an orchestra;
to lead the charge - to be the first person or organization to start working on a difficult task; to lead an important or difficult team effort;
swan song - the final performance or activity of a person's career;
conspicuously - in a way that attracts notice or attention;
perspicacious - having ready insight into and understanding of things.