It all started with an interview published on aktualne.cz. Daniel Prokop, a popular Czech sociologist, backed the common currency by saying it would help us to get closer to the German salary and economic level.
“People do not realize that they look like a donkey when they comment on economic issues without ever opening a textbook of economics,” Martin Pánek said during the interview.
“I wonder how Mr. sociologist imagines it? Will it help us as much as it helped Greece or Italy? Is the media about to ask dentists about monetary policy next time, while economists will comment on trends in dental fillings?,” economist Marketa Sichtarova asked in her tweet, which received hundreds of likes.
Another well known Czech economist, Pavel Kohout, argued that no poor country has been successful with the euro. “Try to come up with the story of at least one single country that the euro demonstrably helped to get closer to the level of Germany – you will not find it. Not one. Not even Ireland where the low income tax rate played the main role. The same goes for the Baltic countries.”
Even Czech trade union leader Josef Stredula criticized Prokop´s idea. “The euro will not help us to catch up. Only real convergence will,” he wrote in a discussion, adding that the exchange rate of the Czech currency should be completely different to what it is today. According to Středula, the Czechs cannot adopt the euro.
