Final Word from Monday, September 19, 2022

PM Petr Fiala's address to the nation last night was the closest he has come to declaring a national policy of deindustrialization. He sought on the surface to give assurances and encouragement to households and companies, but he resorted to several untruths in the process. The first was his assertion that the cabinet has capped energy prices. No final legislative or executive decision has been made. Nor has any decision been made on taxing the extraordinary profits of companies benefiting from the energy crisis or the high prices he mentioned. He repeated for about the 10th time that his government has "managed to secure enough gas for our Republic in case Russia stops supplies completely," although no evidence of this has been presented. The Czech industrial base is being left to die, yet Fiala repeated his jingle about working toward "energy sovereignty." Last night's speech were the words of a PM who is overseeing the deindustrialization of his country and is blaming it on a foreign power. [ Czech Republic deindustrialize address televised Russia Ukraine ]