Final Word from Monday, April 11, 2022

Just a few days after MPs and senators essentially gave the government of Petr Fiala a cross-party vote of confidence by stating in resolutions on Ukraine that they "express [their] support for the approach taken so far by the government of the Czech Republic," Defense Min. Jana Černochová of ODS raised an issue that returns the opposition to its pre-war role. She wants to talk with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin about putting a U.S. military base in the CR, which ANO and SPD (not to mention ČSSD and the Communists) will have difficulty accepting. The CR is technically part of the eastern flank of Nato, according to the White House's definition, but it's far from clear that sending troops to the inner eastern flank will satisfy Joe Biden's budget goal of "making disciplined choices about the use of military force and focusing [America's] attention on the military's primary responsibilities." In her enthusiasm, Černochová might have misjudged the situation on both sides of the Atlantic. [ Czech Republic United States wing Russia ]