The indicted PM
In its role as a key guardian of democracy, Czech Radio commissioned an NMS survey to determine what Czechs think of lifting the parliamentary immunity of ANO Chair Andrej Babiš and SPD Chair Tomio Okamura. A majority (56% in Babiš's case, 55% in Okamura's) thinks that the two should be handed over to the criminal-justice system for prosecution. From a practical political standpoint, this is an irrelevant finding, because the coalition of ANO, SPD and the Motorists has a clear majority in Parliament and won't budge. However, the real purpose of the survey was to put pressure on Pres. Petr Pavel. How can he declare that inappropriate Facebook posts disqualify MP Filip Turek of Moto to be a minister but then appoint someone indicted for a crime to an even higher position? The unstated survey question, then, is whether Pavel should look past Babiš's indictment (and his conflict of interest) and appoint him anyway. Czech Radio still has a few weeks to arrange such an opinion poll.
Glossary of difficult words
to indict - formally to accuse or charge with a crime;
to commission - to order or authorize the production of (something);
finding - information discovered as the result of an inquiry or investigation;
to budge - to change an opinion;
to look past - to ignore or overlook (something) intentionally.