Topolanek: “Road to hell” comment was a friendly warning

Czech Prime Minsiter Mirek Topolanek softens his AC/DC-inspired critique of the U.S. economic stimulus a bit in a new Times column. Topolanek says he simply meant that Europe does not need the same amount of stimulus as the United States. Call it the Simon & Garfunkel version: I expected that this strong expression would not ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.
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Czech Prime minister Mirek Topolanek, whose country assumed the EU's rotating presidency for six months in January, prepares before addressing deputies at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on March 25, 2009. Topolanek's centre-right government was toppled by a vote of no confidence in the Czech parliament on March 24. He assured that the fall of the Czech government will have "no impact on the presidency" of the European Union. AFP PHOTO FREDERICK FLORIN (Photo credit should read FREDERICK FLORIN/AFP/Getty Images)

Czech Prime Minsiter Mirek Topolanek softens his AC/DC-inspired critique of the U.S. economic stimulus a bit in a new Times column. Topolanek says he simply meant that Europe does not need the same amount of stimulus as the United States. Call it the Simon & Garfunkel version:

Czech Prime Minsiter Mirek Topolanek softens his AC/DC-inspired critique of the U.S. economic stimulus a bit in a new Times column. Topolanek says he simply meant that Europe does not need the same amount of stimulus as the United States. Call it the Simon & Garfunkel version:

I expected that this strong expression would not go unnoticed. But I did not expect that this legitimate warning, which comes to me as naturally as telling a friend walking next to me on an uneven path that he may stumble, would be rejected in principle and interpreted by some as criticism of the US Administration.

I believe that I do not need to explain that my country has been a long-standing partner of the US. And I also believe that as a conservative politician I do not need to explain that the welfare states of Europe act as “automatic stabilisers”, sustaining consumer spending even in a slump. This means that Europe does not need such a large fiscal stimulus compared with the US, which does not have such a system of social support.

FREDERICK FLORIN/AFP/Getty Images

Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

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