Final Word from Tuesday, July 18, 2017

No one in Czech politics can measure up to Andrej Babiš in terms of his business background, although Sen. Ivo Valenta (Synot, Parlamentní listy) gets his fair share of recognition. If there is anyone else who comes close to Babiš in terms of the opaqueness of his source of funds and his reliance on government deals, it's ex-CEO Josef Bernard of Škoda Transportation. He is the Pilsen governor for ČSSD. As an owner (or perhaps ex-owner) of Škoda, he remains closely associated with two people who were convicted of fraud and money laundering in Switzerland (subject to appeal) and charged with related crimes in the CR. Bernard was himself a foreign investor through a maze of offshore companies, but now he has decided to confront French and other investors by calling for a bigger tax on capital. It's a valid issue, but coming from a master of hiding his capital sources, it's ČSSD's version of Babiš complaining in his book about people who steal EU funds. [Czech Republic Jiří Diviš Marek Čmejla]