The anti-CEZ coalition
It's said that everyone in business either works for ČEZ or wants to, but there's a group for which this axiom doesn't apply. Over the past year or so, a loose coalition of disparate forces in business, politics, the media and the nonprofit sector has come together - in the virtual sense - to combat the growing abuses at ČEZ. This group includes (in no specific order) the Final Word, the Greens, Czech Coal, Transparency Int., Václav Bartuška, Roman Jančura, Candole Partners, TOP 09, Respekt, HN and LN. Others, such as Dalkia and E.ON, aren't entirely happy either but are less vocal because, as fellow travelers, they benefit handsomely from the energy cartel. Together, the loose coalition has helped create a climate demanding change. Some coalition members are against the status quo purely for self-interested reasons, but for a surprising number of people, the future of the country is more important than money.
Glossary of difficult words
axiom - a statement or proposition that is regarded as being established, accepted or self-evidently true;disparate - containing elements very different from one another;
virtual - existing, but not in a real form (the loose coalition is not organized and has never met as a group);
fellow travelers - a person who is not a member of a particular group but who sympathizes with the group's aims and policies;
handsomely - substantially;
status quo - the existing state of affairs;
self-interested - motivated by one's personal interest or advantage.