Communist budget discipline

There was a common perception that the Communist regimes of Eastern Europe were close to financial collapse, but it's actually only been in the last 15 years that debt levels in the new democracies have skyrocketed. It's almost as if there has been a race to catch up with the West in terms of living on the brink. Western capitalism might provide more financial instruments for avoiding government insolvency, but the interconnectivity of capitalist societies also means a democracy is more vulnerable than a totalitarian regime to financial disaster. It's not so surprising that Communist Chair Vojtěch Filip is positioning himself as the defender of the state budget against excessive deficits. Collaboration by ODS and ČSSD over the years has pushed government spending, borrowing, waste and theft to astronomical levels in a very short time. It might take Communist-like authoritarianism - or default - if this trend is ever to be reversed. [Czech Republic KSČM]