Final Word from Tuesday, July 1, 2025
Jiří Dienstbier, Martin Netolický, Petr Vícha, Václav Votava, Miroslav Poche and other current or former politicians who are slamming the door on SocDem because of its efforts to join forces with Stačilo! will soon be faced with the question of whom to vote for in Oct. Some of them will no doubt choose the Pirates/Greens or STAN and might even endorse one or the other. How many SocDem voters follow them is a crucial question not only for Stačilo! (should it accept SocDem on board), but also for ANO. Andrej Babiš's main goal in encouraging a tie-up of the two political entities on the Left is make sure SocDem's 2-4% of the vote isn't wasted. The goal of his political rivals in the original Fiala-led government coalition must now be the same, except that they need to try to win over as much as possible of this 2-4% for their own side. The ultimate revenge of Dienstbier and the others leaving SocDem would be if their former party, after "repeating the Fierlinger betrayal" of 1948, still didn't make it into Parliament. [ Czech Republic Social Democrats Zdeněk coup Communist Enough! ]
Glossary of difficult words
to slam the door on - to refuse to have anything more to do with (someone or something);
to endorse - to declare one's public approval or support for;
tie-up - connection or association;
Fierlinger betrayal - the unification of the Social Democrats with the Communists after the Communist coup in Feb. 1948; Zdeněk Fierlinger, former chairman of the Social Democrats, was the chief proponent of the merger.