Final Word from Tuesday, May 26, 2026

When Gov. Jiří Rusnok and his team raised the CNB's benchmark interest rate by 1.25 percentage points on June 22, 2022, to 7.00%, Andrej Babiš got angry. He wrote on Twitter: "The departing gang of Rusnok's fanatics and dogmatists is taking revenge for the president's not having extended their terms in office. They're taking revenge on ordinary people. Just look at the rates they have in Slovakia. The new governor will have it tough; they'll probably outvote him." Now it's that new governor, Aleš Michl, whom Babiš is criticizing. On Instagram yesterday he said that his former adviser, Michl, is really angering him. "Why is he keeping the benchmark rate one percentage point higher than the euro?" Babiš asked. Then he answered his own question: "He's letting the banks earn money; the banks don't even know what else to profit from anymore." It's actually just that simple. Michl has become Rusnok, and now everyone - including Babiš the politician - must pay the price of what being a central banker is all about. [ Czech Republic key governor Miloš Zeman ]