Final Word from Tuesday, January 10, 2023

FAZ of Germany wrote on Fri. that Daniel Křetínský built a multi-billion-euro empire out of nothing. Not mentioned were his all-important dealings with ČEZ and Gazprom. Whether Křetínský has a direct interest in ČEZ isn't known, but people he's linked to at J&T certainly do. This is where presidential candidate Andrej Babiš comes in. He told Jana Bobošíková last week that he would meet with the representative of ČEZ's minority owners, Michal Šnobr of J&T, and tell him that their stake in ČEZ is worth tens of billions of crowns. But there are also retained earnings of Kč 200bn, Babiš said. He would tell Šnobr: "We, as the state, will buy your shares and distribute the retained earnings, so you get Kč 60bn plus the value of the shares. Let's negotiate." As president, Babiš wouldn't be able to do this alone, but he would have leverage over the Fiala government. One of the big complaints about Babiš by the other oligarchs was that he refused to share in the spoils. Now he wants to negotiate. [ Czech Republic Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Petr HN Hospodářské noviny ]