Final Word from Monday, December 4, 2023

PM Petr Fiala insisted last week that his government won't give in to striking education workers, but then three days later he gave in to striking doctors. This angered ČMKOS labor leader Josef Středula, who told LN that such selective treatment of certain groups could cause society to become radicalized. At the same time Fiala, Finance Min. Zbyněk Stanjura and Industry Min. Jozef Síkela started adding large companies to the list of those who will get special treatment, this time in the form of energy subsidies, although it still isn't clear what the key will be for deciding which companies are among the chosen ones. What's going on here? Is the selective treatment being dished out by Fiala based on how loud someone screams? Whom someone knows? How much someone pays under the table? Or is there some sort of national or foreign interest at play that no one knows about? As the PM, Fiala needs to level the playing field by telling everyone what they need to do to get special treatment. [ Czech Republic ODS STAN Lidové noviny corruption subsidy strike protest ]