Final Word from Thursday, December 22, 2011
Václav Klaus's speech at the Castle yesterday was exactly the kind he had to give andwas capable of giving. It was flawlessly proper in honoring Václav Havel. It's possibleto nitpick, as HN did, and to criticize Klaus for being too impersonal, but if he hadbeen more emotional, he would have been accused of insincerity. Everyone knows thetwo Václavs didn't get along very well. Klaus in fact had every reason to behave in thesame way that he would like to be treated once his own time comes. It won't be hiswords this week that undermine Havel. It will more likely be the choice of guests forFriday's star-studded state funeral. Klaus won't intentionally leave out the dissidents,as Karel Schwarzenberg fears, because they don't present any substantial threat. Theones who do present a threat are Havel's newer friends, the businessmen who arewilling to spend their money to build up Havel's legacy and to tear down Klaus's.
Glossary of difficult words
to nitpick - to look for small or unimportant errors or faults, esp. in order to criticize unnecessarily;
to undermine - to damage or weaken, esp. gradually or insidiously;
star- studded - featuring a number of famous people (world politicians, in this case).