Final Word from Monday, July 22, 2019

Ondřej Závodský's inside scoop of life at the finance ministry under Andrej Babiš disappeared from view as quickly as it appeared on the day of the no-confidence vote in Parliament. The book, "The Time of Oligarchs, their Servants and their Enemies," explains how Babiš creates a problem for his oligarchic rivals in terms of, say, the tax rates on gambling and then barters the rates down in return for something else. On Page 38, Závodský quotes Babiš as saying behind closed doors, "The Social Democrats better not piss me off. I don't ask what [ČEZ CEO Martin] Roman was doing in Romania and what the money went for." In MFD on Sat., Babiš was all praise for ČEZ, because it will now help him bring to a mutually beneficial conclusion the pre-election lithium scandal that pitted him against the Greater Roman Empire. Závodský's book has slid from view mainly because none of the oligarchs, Roman included, wants the public to grasp how and why the real deals get done. [ Czech Republic ČSSD dep. deputy finance minister ]