Final Word from Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Before he left office, Tony Blair complained that the British media are a "feral beast" that "hunts in packs" and whose widespread cynicism is sapping the country's confidence and self-belief. No Czech politicians have put it so succinctly, but they take turns berating the media for unprofessionalism and cynicism. They, like Blair, try to shift away the blame for a situation of their own making. Never since Stanislav Gross's final days has the cynicism been so evenly distributed across the media spectrum as with the decision to halt criminal proceedings against Jiří Čunek. State Prosecutor Arif Salichov said the split on the issue will be 50-50, but this is surely an underestimation of the media and voter backlash. The CR is a member of the EU, IMF, NATO, OECD, OSCE, WHO and WTO, but voters feel Czech democracy is still in the SNAFU league (Situation Normal: All Fucked Up). This isn't mere cynicism.[Czech Republic European Union World Health Organization World Trade Organization corruption]