March editorial

It is spring.

Many Czechs who had moved originally to Australia moved later to Tasmania. Do you know why? Because they have clearly four seasons during the year- spring, summer, fall, winter. The people were used to this from Czechoslovakia.

I understand it. I visited my daughter who lives on the Canary Islands. Their weather there is nice all year round- about 25C. I agree- it is lovely but I would be bored to death over there.

I do not know of anything more beautiful than to see snow drops, primroses, buds on trees and bushes, daisies and violets in the grass, which had already grown under the snow and to spot fragrant lilies of the valley that grow around my summer cottage. All that helps me to wake up from the awful winter when the sun disappears for several months and when the days are dark, with snow and smog everywhere…

Today- on the last day of February- I can already feel spring coming- it fascinates me every year over and over again…

You may wonder what’s new in our politics… actually not a lot. You had probably read already about how our president probably lost his mind and pardoned some thieves and criminals, how he badmouthed our previous president Vaclav Havel who had died a year ago- you probably had read all about that on our web pages. All of those actions were written about in our papers by many personalities in all walks of life.

According to media research Klaus, who had been  considered an above-the-average president, has fallen to about 20% in popularity. Some people think that his career might continue in Brussels- a place which he does not like at all. Could it be some kind of punishment?

Before he left office, Klaus managed to swap some state awards with his Slovak colleague Ivan Gasparovic. Klaus received the Order of the White Double Cross and Gasparovic was given the Order of the While Lion. Nobody knows why these awards were given and why now.

The musician Jiri Stivin (who refused to play at the Klaus’s jazz concert) received the Prize of Prague- a silver medal for his contribution to culture. I am glad he did. He deserved it.

The wife of out future president Milos Zeman refuses to disclose the place and kind of her present employment. She does not even want to be First Lady. However now her employment is not a private matter any more- as she seems to declare.

I want to end on a positive note:  The Czech-_Israeli  Chamber of Commerce recently organized a literary evening  to commemorate the death of Arnost Lustig (February 26, 2011), who was a very unusual human being. See our “Latest News” …

Translated by Marie Dolansky