Final Word from Wednesday, September 3, 2025
Pres. Petr Pavel and his preferred candidate for the next Czech prime minister, STAN Chair Vít Rakušan, are pushing hard for quick adoption of the euro. STAN states on Page 6 of its election program that, "We will make the political decision that the Czech Republic will introduce the euro at the earliest possible date, while taking into account the mandatory processes." Rakušan sees this as 2030, or perhaps 2029, but his commitment is to adopt the euro at the "earliest possible date." This sets STAN apart from most of the other parties, including Spolu, which wants adoption once it's in the country's best interest. Rakušan, and Pavel too, are openly defying warnings from ex-central bankers like Miroslav Singer, Pavel Kysilka and Marek Mora. They see a big risk in losing control over Czech banks in the event of another financial crisis. This is no small matter, now that investors are wondering whether Paris will become the epicenter of a new euro crisis, as reported by Die Welt. Czechs must assume that euro enthusiasts like Pavel and Rakušan would be among the first to offer Czech money to bail out (or bail in) a floundering eurozone. [ Czech Republic European Banking Union ERM II bailout bail-in France French CNB Czech National Bank governor ]
Glossary of difficult words
bail-in - the rescue of a financial institution that is on the brink of failure whereby creditors and depositors take a loss on their holdings;
to defy - openly to resist or to refuse to obey;
to bail out - to rescue someone or something from a difficulty; to provide financial aid to a corporation or country that would otherwise be on the brink of bankruptcy;
to flounder - to be in serious difficulty.