Jan Macháček switches oligarchs
For those who want to understand what is truly going on in Czech business and politics and who also like to have a global perspective on things, commentator Jan Macháček is one of a dozen or so people who are a must-read. Sure, you might disagree with some of his conclusions, or you might not like his allegiance to the global financial establishment, but any astute reader can factor this into the equation. Macháček is a leading opinion maker, and this makes his decamping from one media oligarch (Zdeněk Bakala) to another (Andrej Babiš) an important event. It's similar in importance to when Respekt ended its protective policy of not writing about its owner, Bakala. Macháček himself was so protective of Bakala that he made his disaffection known when we included Bakala among the Czech criminal elite. Macháček is less protective of his new oligarch. Once bitten, twice shy. Czech publishing seems to be entering the second phase of media oligarchy. The oligarchs are now seen as a necessary or unavoidable evil, but nothing to be proud of.
Glossary of difficult words
must-read - a piece of writing (or the work of an individual) that should or must be read;allegiance - loyalty or commitment of a subordinate to a superior or of an individual to a group or a cause;
astute - having or showing an ability to accurately assess situations or people and turn this to one's advantage;
to decamp - to depart suddenly, esp. to relocate one's business or household to another area;
disaffection - dissatisfaction; hostility;
once bitten, twice shy - an unpleasant experience causes one to be caution the next time.