Final Word from Thursday, February 8, 2024

One of STAN's stunts is to give the impression that the government's policy statement obliges the cabinet to do more towards adopting the euro than is actually the case. According to STAN Vice Chair Lukáš Vlček, "There's a sentence in it saying that we will meet the Maastricht criteria and will secure entry into ERM II." He's not far off about the Maastricht criteria, but in terms of ERM II the document in fact says, "We will examine the benefits and risks to the Czech Republic of joining ERM II from the perspective of public finances and the economy as a whole." That's a big difference, but most people can't be bothered to look up a boring policy statement. Other politicians of course count on this inaction by voters too. Politicians aren't likely to change, so the only real defense of voters is to avoid jumping to quick conclusions. In general, the quicker people make up their mind about an issue they know very little about, the easier it is for politicians to manipulate them. Sometimes it's better to be indecisive. [ Czech Republic trick antics eurozone control influence manipulation ]