[click image]So much stupidity and rapacity and confusion, it truly is as though there is cabal of "producers" putting on this grand scale play, the chaos out of which their next production will spring. If the Czechs aren't in financial trouble and have just lost confidence by a jot in their righty Prime Minister, why is unrest feared there? Don't they just vote someone else in? I don't get why this is a concern for the EU. I don't know why they lumped the Czechs in the same piece with these:
On the brink: The sick men of Europe
Latvia
A few months ago, it was the EU's fastest growing economy, with growth of nearly 11 per cent. Now Latvia faces economic ruin. In February the government collapsed following violent demonstrations in the capital Riga in protest at the government's handling of the crisis and steep IMF-imposed cutbacks. Farmers have blockaded the capital in protest at plummeting incomes, while unemployment has risen to 10.4 per cent, more than double what it was a year ago.
Hungary
Premier Ferenc Gyurcsany resigned last weekend amid efforts to impose austerity cutbacks demanded by the IMF. Hungary was the first EU member to seek an IMF bailout to stave off economic collapse. The Hungarian economy is expected to contract by as much as 3.5 per cent this year. Public sector unrest over tax and pension reforms is at boiling point and social tensions have risen with "Gypsies" blamed by nationalist groups for a crime wave linked to the worsening economic conditions.
Ukraine
Demonstrations occur almost daily as the country teeters on the brink of collapse. Economic output has plummeted and Russia continues to meddle in its energy industry. Despite this, President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Julia Tymoshenko are still locked in a power struggle that has paralysed Ukrainian politics since the 2004 Orange Revolution. Now the IMF has postponed payment of the second tranche of a $16.4bn loan due to their failure to agree on a budget.
Surprisingly, the Czechs are sitting relatively pretty, compared to that company. Topolanek is a buffoon, but then so are all the other professional politicians here. There really doesn't seem to be much of a problem with the economy, I really can't understand the key to the success. It could be that everyone here has some sort of scam or other going - it's always been that way: "If you're not stealing from the state, you're stealing from your family," as they say. Now that the state isn't the boss of everything any more, it's just: "If you're not stealing, you're stealing from your family." Whatever - it's a lovely environment to be riding out the current storm. I hope it doesn't take too long to repair the damage duhbaya did.
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