Final Word from Tuesday, December 31, 2024

It's been mostly forgotten, but one of the main messages of Pres. Petr Pavel's New Year's address one year ago was his call for taking concrete steps toward adopting the euro. He managed to raise a brief discussion about it and returned to the issue a few times, but the overall impact of his lobbying was next to zero. Most Czechs have made up their mind one way or the other, and nothing the president can say will sway them. Pavel's New Year's greeting for MFD/iDnes today hints at what one of his main messages might be tomorrow. How next year goes will depend largely on us, Pavel said, because "we alone influence the direction of our country and our future." In a world of Trumps, Musks, Putins and Xis, that's a simplification that's meant to influence next year's Czech elections. Most Czechs have made up their mind one way or the other, and nothing the president can say will sway them, but Pavel's speech will nevertheless serve as the de facto start of the highly political new year 2025. [ Czech Republic speech MF Dnes adoption common currency Donald Elon Vladimir Jinping China Russia United States of America ]