Social upheaval

PM Petr Fiala told reporters on Fri. (at the 17m40s mark) that it's realistic to say that if the Czech government and other governments don't find a way to get energy prices at least to a level that allows companies to survive, it could lead to social upheaval. He was responding to a speech in Parliament by Pavel Blažek of ODS in which the justice minister warned that the very existence of the Czech government, the Czech political system and the EU are under threat by high energy rates. The situation is probably more dramatic than at any time since 1989, Blažek said, and it could lead to revolution. His comments were widely reported by the private media. CNN Prima News covered them in its evening news, 360° and Partie shows. Czech TV virtually ignored Blažek's speech, reducing it in its main news on Fri. evening to a single sentence, without mentioning Blažek by name. ČT apparently doesn't realize that it's merely contributing to the social upheaval by trying to protect its favored PM.