The coal fire under Sobotka
A month ago, Bohuslav Sobotka was bemoaning the difficulty of removing Andrej Babiš as finance minister, because it would allow the ANO chairman to play the martyr in the election campaign. Now people close to Sobotka are saying that the PM will decide today to take the plunge and to sack Babiš. What is it that suddenly lit a fire under Sobotka, so to speak? Turns out it might be a coal fire. The official reason is the uncertainty about Babiš's tax-free bonds, but nothing has changed in this respect for nine months. What has changed is that in April, Babiš temporarily managed to block the sale of the Počerady power plant to Pavel Tykač's Czech Coal. Even more significantly, Babiš hinted that he might throw out the unwritten agreement giving ČSSD three representatives on the sup. board of ČEZ. This would give Babiš unfettered access to ČEZ's archives, including details of any conflict of interest with American depositary receipts, ČEZ's contract with CEEI for a temporary spent-fuel storage facility, its Balkan misadventures and, of course, the Počerady deal itself. Reason enough to sack Babiš?
Glossary of difficult words
to bemoan - to express discontent or sorrow over (something);to take the plunge - to commit oneself to a course of action about which one is nervous;
to light a fire under someone - to get someone to act quickly or forcefully, esp. someone who has not been doing enough previously;
unfettered - not confined or restricted;
American depositary receipts - negotiable securities that represent securities of a non-U.S. company that trades in the U.S. financial markets.