Sobotka's cabinet of budget irresponsibility

If ČSSD, ANO and KDU-ČSL manage to put their coalition government together, one thing is as clear as a crystal: It won't be another government of "budget responsibility." That moniker was entirely discredited, whether justifiably or not, by the government of Petr Nečas and Miroslav Kalousek, but this won't bother the government of Bohuslav Sobotka and Andrej Babiš in the least. The three coalition parties aren't even pretending to be penny-pinchers. Each of them states in its campaign or program material that it wants to keep the deficit below 3% of GPD. Spending 10% more than the country is able to collect in taxes is considered perfectly normal to them. The latest idea of a cabinet of 18-19 ministers, when 15 would easily suffice, is a fine example of what we can expect. ČSSD Chair Bohuslav Sobotka told HN that the CR currently has a public debt of 48% of GDP and that allowing it to rise above 60% would be a handicap in adopting the euro. Yet four years of 3% annual public deficits ensure that this will indeed happen.