Day 1,639: lackey, crony, fray, rampant, cuddle
The country’s biggest problem has been the dominance of the populist-nationalist Law and Justice (pis) party, which has run the government for the past eight years, eroding the independence of the courts, stuffing state media with lackeys and nurturing crony capitalism.
Incomes had plunged, the social contract was fraying and extremist parties of the left and right were rampant.
The government grew so desperate that it cuddled up to China and later sold its main port, Piraeus, to a Chinese firm.
Artwork of the day
Altarpiece of the Virgin of Guadalupe with Saint John the Baptist, Fray Juan de Zumárraga and Juan Diego
Miguel CabreraStyle:BaroqueGenre:religious paintingLocation:Museo Nacional de Arte (MUNAL), Mexico City, Mexico
Word of the day
lackey: a servant or someone who behaves like one by obeying someone else's orders or by doing unpleasant work for them:
crony: a friend, or a person who works for someone in authority, especially one who is willing to give and receive dishonest help:
fray: to become or to cause the threads in cloth or rope to become slightly separated, formingl oose threads at the edge or end:
rampant: (of something bad) getting worse quickly and in an uncontrolled way:
cuddle: to put your arms around someone and hold them in a loving way, or (of two people) to hold each other close to show love or for comfort:
Quote of the day
“She made me wear it every time I went to the cemetery after dark, because she didn’t want me getting possessed by the devil or one of his lackeys.”
― Lynn Painter, Better Than the Movies