Final Word from Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Karel Schwarzenberg isn't the only one with a "man crush" on Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek. He's KDU-ČSL's best minister since Josef Lux, gushed PM Mirek Topolánek. Lux was considered by some to be a snake who agreed one thing in private and then announced something else in public, while others saw him as a dike against destructive political and economic deals. What Kalousek has done as finance minister is to bring more professional management to the deal process. Almost all the major money matters on the national level have had his fingerprints on them, yet he has remained largely out of the spotlight. The main exceptions are the ČEZ buyback and the State Treasury tender, but even here Kalousek quickly got things under control. If he also manages to sell ČSA and Prague Airport without a major accident, Topolánek will have good reason to consider him his No. 1 hero. [Czech Republic Letiště Praha Christian Democrats share]
Glossary of difficult words
to be mad about someone - to be crazy about someone, enchanted by;
man crush - the fondness or admiration a heterosexual man feels for another man;
Josef Lux - former KDU chairman who died in 1999;
to gush - to speak or write with high praise or exaggerated enthusiasm about someone;
dike - a low wall serving as a boundary or defense;
No. 1 hero - an allusion to the way Topolánek explained showing his middle finger in Parliament. He said he was telling Kalousek he was No. 1.