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 ...
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
More from Foreign Policy


At Long Last, the Foreign Service Gets the Netflix Treatment
Keri Russell gets Drexel furniture but no Senate confirmation hearing.


How Macron Is Blocking EU Strategy on Russia and China
As a strategic consensus emerges in Europe, France is in the way.


What the Bush-Obama China Memos Reveal
Newly declassified documents contain important lessons for U.S. China policy.


Russia’s Boom Business Goes Bust
Moscow’s arms exports have fallen to levels not seen since the Soviet Union’s collapse.