Final Word from Thursday, March 5, 2026
Jan Lopatka of Reuters quoted Andrej Babiš on July 15 of last year, three months before the parliamentary elections, as saying that he would scrap the ammunition program for Ukraine if he returned to power. Babiš had already said previously that the shells were old and moldy and that the program was untransparent, but this was apparently the first time he had said publicly that he would cancel it. And he said it to an international press agency, which guaranteed greater coverage. What caused Babiš to take it to a new level? In his debate on TV Prima on Sun. with ex-PM Petr Fiala, Vice PM Karel Havlíček seemed to admit that ANO had had access to secret BIS reports before the elections stating that the ammunition program was untransparent and very overpriced. Fiala's government didn't behave the way it should have, he said. Fiala denied it all and demanded that Havlíček prove his claims. Which is a good idea, because it looks from today's vantage point that the BIS reports helped ANO win the elections. [ Czech Republic munitions ODS CNN Prima News ]
Glossary of difficult words
to scrap - to abolish or cancel; to discard or remove from service;
moldy - covered with a fungal growth which causes decay, due to age or damp conditions;
vantage point - a place or position affording a good view of something.