Why Amazon?

The city of Brno rejected Amazon's plans this week for a distribution center in the Moravian city, but national and regional politicians are still running around trying to put a deal together. Southern Moravian Gov. Michal Hašek declared yesterday that the project is a strategic matter not only for his region, but also for the entire country. Industry Minister Jan Mládek used slightly less lofty language but still said that such an investment is in the interest of both the region and the country. Finance Minister Andrej Babiš has also thrown his weight behind it. When we first wrote about Amazon's plans, we spoke of the 10,000 crappy jobs that would be created and noted that Amazon is a leader in EU tax avoidance. Other analysts have pointed out that Amazon (unlike other major foreign investors) will ultimately kill as many local retail jobs as it creates. Where, pray tell, is the CR's strategic interest in kissing up to Amazon?