Final Word from Tuesday, June 30, 2026
The Castle, Constitutional Court and opposition parties saw yesterday what happens when a "weak" prime minister is backed into a corner. Andrej Babiš, sometimes referred to by the opposition as "Slabiš" (Weak Babiš), pounced at Pres. Petr Pavel and Josef Baxa's Court for the preliminary injunction requiring him to allow Pavel to attend the Nato summit. Babiš will comply, but in minimalist or perhaps even malicious mode. He'll provide Pavel with a government airplane and let him roam the halls in Ankara but won't give him any substantive role. Babiš based this mainly on his government's opposition to a proposal from Germany for €70bn in annual funding for Ukraine. As in the past, Babiš said, Pavel's position on this could be different. It's the second time in recent days that Babiš has highlighted the difference in policy of Germany and his own government. The undertone, not yet fully uttered, is that Pavel's presence in Ankara might better serve Friedrich Merz's interests than those of the Czech people. [ chancellor Turkey ]
Glossary of difficult words
to pounce - (of a person) to spring forward suddenly so as to attack or seize someone or something;
to comply - to act in accordance with a wish or command;
malicious - motivated by a deliberate desire to cause harm, injury, distress or embarrassment to someone else;
to roam - to move about or travel aimlessly or unsystematically, esp. over a wide area;
undertone - a muted, subtle or underlying quality that is not immediately obvious but that influences the overall impression of something;
to utter - to say (something) aloud.