Final Word from Tuesday, June 27, 2017
When Czech politicians badmouth the eurozone four months before parliamentary elections, at the very time that EU leaders are promoting greater integration, you can chalk it up to pandering to the EU-skeptical voters. When a central banker does it publicly, it's an entirely different matter. It's an effort to affect long-term Czech government policy toward the eurozone. CNB Board Member Marek Mora said in LN that he advises every Czech politician to wait on adopting the euro to see how the North-South battle within the eurozone turns out. Just before he joined the CNB, Mora told Respekt that the CR could easily have a common currency with Germany but that it would be a problem to have one with Greece and Italy. Mora worked with so many Germans during his years at the Council of the EU that he is starting to sound like one. Which makes it legitimate to ask: Who is dictating Czech monetary policy, the Czech National Bank, or the Deutsche Bundesbank? [Czech Republic Czech National Bank German Central Bank adoption]
Glossary of difficult words
to badmouth - to criticize severely;
to chalk something up to - to ascribe something to a particular cause;
to pander - to gratify or indulge (an immoral or distasteful desire or taste or a person with such a desire or taste).