Final Word from Wednesday, January 18, 2023

In a highly self-promotional appearance at the World Economic Forum yesterday, Industry Min. Jozef Síkela (STAN) said that the CR was able to reduce natural-gas consumption last year by 15% merely by asking people to turn down their thermostats and wear a woolly. He said nothing about the decline in production and gas use in industry. Then he warned against relying too heavily on subsidies for companies, because it can be like doping in sports, where it's always difficult to go back to the pre-doping period. A few hours later PM Petr Fiala boasted in Parliament about the financial aid and price caps his government has put in place for large companies. Yet as VP Radek Špicar of the Confederation of Industry points out, the details of the caps for large companies still haven't been approved. Companies still don't know what to expect. An entire range of economic indicators - GDP growth, industrial output, trade balance, current account, budget deficit, unemployment, etc. - depends on how industry performs, but companies won't learn until after the presidential elections what Fiala and Síkela plan with regard to their energy rates. [ Czech Republic ODS vote of no-confidence vice president ]