CEZ on TOP

TOP 09 is now TOP 9.1, or so says one of our readers. That's the nickname he gave to the party because of the 9.1 percentage- point spread between Miroslav Kalousek's 4.8% forecast for GDP growth last year and the actual preliminary growth figure of negative 4.3%. Kalousek's miscalculation as finance minister will put the CR another few hundred billion crowns in debt. He now wants to show that he's dead serious about getting public finances in order. TOP vows to slash welfare and government spending. If enacted, TOP's proposals wouldn't be bad shock therapy for a country inching toward Greece. But TOP's enthusiasm for changing the way things are done in the CR is marred by its strong support for ČEZ's plans for the Prunéřov power plant. Kalousek had made a point last year of criticizing just such schemes designed to take money out of the pocket of taxpayers while benefiting a predetermined group of people. How quickly things change. A vote for TOP 9.1 is starting to look like just another vote for ČEZ. [Czech Republic parliamentary elections gross domestic product]