Janota the politician

26.05.2010 - EB

In the context of Czech politics, it's not so surprising for the "nonpartisan" finance minister of a "non-political" interim cabinet to support a specific political party in the elections. Finance Minister Eduard Janota produced only a few headlines when he announced publicly that he will vote for TOP 09. Each person has a right to express an opinion, but when Janota appeared in a campaign ad this week for TOP 09, it was more than just a citizen stating his opinion. Janota was essentially admitting that the finance ministry remains highly political and that he is the ringleader. Everyone has long accepted that anything coming out of Interior Minister Martin Pecina's mouth must be put through a B.S. detector, but Janota has been surrounded by an aura of irreproachability. He should now be treated like any other politician, and his every statement or move should analyzed in terms of whom it benefits. Even his comments about leaving the civil service after the elections should be taken with a Zeman-size grain of salt.

Glossary of difficult words

nonpartisan - not biased or partisan, esp. toward any particular political group;

ringleader - (used here in a figurative sense) a person who initiates or leads an illicit, illegal or shameful activity;

B.S. detector - an imaginary devise that detects bullshit or nonsense;

irreproachability - the state of being beyond criticism; faultlessness;

Zeman-size - suggesting that Miloš Zeman is the king of leaving politics and promising not to return only to do so later;

to take with a grain of salt - to believe something with reservations; skeptically.



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