Common-sense defense spending

The Country for the Future 2.0 economic strategic unveiled by the Babiš cabinet on Fri. isn't very friendly toward defense lobbyists like Petr Kolář, Miroslav Kalousek and Tomáš Pojar. It states on Page 80 that the government is aware that economic growth and budgetary consolidation can't be achieved at the expense of fulfilling the basic functions of the state, including external defense and internal security, but it also emphasizes on Page 59 that defense isn't a very big economic multiplier. This goes against the argument of EU Commission Pres. Ursula von der Leyen at the Munich Security Conference that defense spending is a way to "turbocharge a new industrial deal that will not only keep us safe, but be an engine of growth, delivering prosperity for Europeans for decades to come." Foreign Min. Petr Macinka said that when he was in the U.S. last week, he explained the limitations of Czech public finances. In a softball interview on CNN Prima News on Fri., U.S. Amb. Nicholas Merrick said that the CR is a bulwark of common sense and that he thinks common sense will also prevail in terms of higher defense spending. Some would say it already has.