When Zeman meets Bakala
If the news reports are accurate, Zdeněk Bakala won't attend the OKD-related meeting at the Castle tomorrow but wants to confer separately with Pres. Miloš Zeman over the next two weeks. Bakala is a non-independent, non-executive director at NWR, so he isn't allowed to represent the company at such a meeting. Any encounter with Zeman, therefore, must be strictly private. But what business does the president, who has been critical of Bakala's handling of OKD, have meeting with a private individual about his personal predicament, when the OKD matter is a very public one? Does Bakala perhaps want to strike the same kind of OKD back-room deal with Zeman that he allegedly cooked up with Bohuslav Sobotka a decade ago? This might benefit Bakala and Zeman, but probably not employees, shareholders or bondholders of NWR/OKD, or the residents of Ostrava. Any meeting with Bakala should be broadcast live on TV, in Putin style, so that we all know what Bakala is willing to offer in exchange for Zeman's calling off the dogs.
Glossary of difficult words
to confer - to have discussion; to exchange opinions;non-independent - representing personal interests, not the interests of all shareholders;
non-executive - not involved in the active management of the company;
predicament - a difficult, unpleasant or embarrassing situation;
to cook something up - to concoct, devise or contrive;
Putin style - Putin often has his meetings with other officials or businessmen broadcast on TV;
to call off the dogs - to stop attacking or criticizing someone.