PM Petr Fiala went on three-day sick leave yesterday, and we wish him a swift recovery so that he can help the “sick man of Europe,” as Die Welt referred to the CR on Mon., return to health too. For this to happen, Fiala would have to recognize what the CR’s problems are. Die Welt said that the failure of Fiala’s government to attract a Volkswagen gigafactory is “symptomatic of the state of the Czech economy and its future prospects,” but this statement is itself problematic. Factors in VW’s decision no doubt included lower than-expected demand for e-vehicles, rising competition from China, the Inflation Reduction Act subsidies in the U.S.,and the need for VW to cut costs due to lower overall car demand resulting from high interest rates and expensive fuel. These are problems of the West in general. The only way for theCR to get well is for the Fiala cabinet to identity all the problems and to take steps on the national level that mitigate, instead of exacerbate, the factors that it has little or no control over.

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