Final Word from Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Lidové noviny keeps asking day after day where Miloš Zeman's chief of staff, Vratislav Mynář, got the money to buy a Prague villa. The newspaper just won't let it go. Where Mynář got the money is indeed an interesting question, but there are two others that are even more worth asking. First, what could Mynář possibly offer someone to make up for the roughly Kč 7m difference between what he paid for the villa and what it is worth? The president has only limited powers, but he does have the authority to appoint or nominate the PM, judges, generals, ambassadors and CNB board members. In addition, he can grant pardons, veto laws and of course take along Petr Kellner, Jiří Šmejc and Dušan Palcr to see the Chinese president. Is influencing any of these official acts, or a combination thereof, worth Kč 7m? And the other question: Has this imaginary service already been rendered, or was the Kč 7m an advance payment? [Czech Republic Castle kancléř]
Glossary of difficult words
to let something go - (in this context) to stop dwelling on something;
to render - to provide (a service).