Is Zeman still relevant?
Miloš Zeman is back in action, after licking his election wounds for six weeks. In yesterday's Final Word we suggested that he might be worthy of pity, having lost his army of supporters in that very short period. Today we ask whether he is still relevant. He wants to be, but he hasn't yet realized that the Zeman who won the presidential election in Jan. died a painful political death on or about Oct. 26, after the people gave their definitive vote of no confidence to his party, SPOZ, and to the Rusnok government. If Zeman wants to rise again, it will require the same kind of planning and repositioning that he charted during his 10-year self-imposed exile in the highlands. He can't stage a comeback by being negativistic, as he was in his radio interview on Sun. That will only further reduce his popularity and his influence. Until he finds a way to reinvent himself, everything he says and does will be little more than a bluff.
Glossary of difficult words
to lick one's wounds - to retire to recover one's strength or confidence after a defeat or humiliating experience;to reposition - to change the image of a company, product, person, etc., to target a new or wider market;
bluff - an attempt to deceive someone into believing that one can or will do something;
to reinvent yourself - to change the way of doing things so that people will think of you as a different person.