A Miller's Tale

The Czech press is full of stories about the early departure of Zdeněk Tůma as governor of the Czech National Bank, but hardly a word has been said about the unexpected departure of Jan Fischer as president of the Czech Statistical Office. Instead of returning to the bureau after stepping down as interim PM, he'll join the EBRD. Unlike in the case of the CNB, where the two vice governors are nearly household names and are both considered suitable candidates for the top post, neither of the current VPs at the statistics office has made a name for himself. It seems more likely that an outsider will be brought in. Vladimír Mlynář, chief adviser and intriguer to Fischer, is said to have his eye on the job and is bending Fischer's ear about it. Marrying intrigue, politics and statistics has had a disastrous effect on Greece, and there's no reason to expect any better outcome at the Czech Statistical Office.