Final Word from Thursday, October 1, 2015
Lidové noviny took a slight breather today from its impalement of Bohuslav Sobotka and Zdeněk Bakala. After three days of lead articles about the OKD privatization, LN relegated the story today to Page 2. Regardless of the downgrade, LN has now been attacking the prime minister of the country for four days in a row, making this one of the most aggressive media campaigns ever against a sitting Czech politician. And LN has not even touched yet on the key role in the OKD privatization of Sobotka's "pimp," lawyer Radek Pokorný, who has been guiding Sobotka's every move for two decades. As the Oct. 9 date of a criminal trial in the privatization approaches, and three foot soldiers go before a judge on charges of damaging the state to the tune of Kč 5.7bn, LN will no doubt ask why Sobotka, Bakala and Pokorný are not also under indictment. Yes, this is a political attack by Andrej Babiš, owner of LN. Yes, it could perhaps lead to the fall of the Sobotka government. But the questions being posed are legitimate. Why isn't Bohuslav Sobotka facing criminal charges? [Czech Republic NWR Mafra ANO ČSSD]
Glossary of difficult words
crucifixion - the execution of a person by nailing him or her to a cross;
breather - a brief pause for rest;
impalement - the piercing or transfixing of a person with a sharp instrument;
to relegate - to consign or dismiss to an inferior rank or position; to downgrade;
pimp - a person who controls prostitutes and arranges clients for them, taking part of their earnings in return;
foot soldier - a person who carries out important work but does not have a role of authority in an organization or field;
indictment - a formal charge or accusation of a serious crime.