Final Word from Wednesday, November 6, 2024

One day after Miloš Zeman appointed Aleš Michl on May 11, 2022, to succeed Jiří Rusnok as governor of the Czech National Bank, effective on July 1 of that year, the CNB intervened in favor of the crown. Six weeks later, just a week before Michl assumed his new post, Rusnok's majority raised the benchmark interest rate by 1.25 percentage points, to 7.00%. Luděk Vai­nert of HN wrote in between these two moves by the CNB that Rusnok seemed to want to tie Michl's hands in terms of higher interest rates. Czechs should keep this tactic in mind for the event that Donald Trump is indeed confirmed as the next U.S. president. If Pres. Joe Biden decides to tie Trump's hands in terms of Ukraine, one of his most likely allies in Europe for doing so is the highly loyal Czech government. Remember, Pres. Petr Pavel, EU Affairs Min. Martin Dvořák and others have already spoken about sending in Czech troops. It would be easy for Pavel and PM Petr Fiala to say that Trump's victory left them with no other choice. [ Czech Republic 125 basis points soldiers STAN ]