Babiš claims Czechs could buy up the entire national debt from their savings — economists call it nonsense

ANO leader Andrej Babiš said in his latest Sunday video address on Facebook that Czech citizens could theoretically buy up the country's entire national debt using their own savings. According to him, the national debt stands at 3,726 billion crowns, while Czechs hold 3,924 billion crowns in their bank accounts alone — 200 billion crowns more than the debt itself.

Babiš first raised this idea while criticising next year's draft budget, which continues the trend of growing state debt. "If you take our nominal debt and all the population's savings in bank accounts, people would have two hundred billion more than the state debt. So theoretically, they could buy out the state's debts," the politician said.

Economists call the idea pointless

Dominik Rusinek, chief economist at investment firm Patria Finance, said the argument lacks any real economic basis. In his view, it's more likely an attempt by Babiš to deflect attention from the high budget deficit, though the idea itself is a worrying sign of how the ANO leader's team thinks.

"The fact that households hold more financial assets than the state debt says nothing on its own about the sustainability of public finances — what matters are other factors: the pace of debt growth, economic growth, or interest rate levels. Having savings doesn't mean people are willing to finance the state on the terms it needs," the economist explained.

"They'll take the savings when things get really bad"

Štěpán Křeček, chief economist at BH Securities, holds a similar view. He warned that linking citizens' private assets to the state debt is dangerous. "The implication behind this idea is that if the situation worsens, the state could raise taxes and effectively seize citizens' savings that way," he cautioned.

The opposition has its own objections. ODS chairman Martin Kupka believes Babiš's statement is meant to divert attention from the planned budget deficit of 386 billion crowns — the second-largest in the country's history — as well as from the overall size of the national debt. "What's more, it's economic nonsense — that's not how you solve a national debt. Even if people bought it out, the state would still have to pay them interest on it," he told the news outlet Novinky.

On social media, Babiš's remark has mainly sparked fears over the safety of personal savings. Users worry that in the future the state could gain access to their money through selective taxes, forced purchases of government bonds, or other interference with private property. Additional concern stems from the possible erosion of savings' value due to massive debt-funded spending — echoing Babiš's earlier remarks along the lines of "we'll get this economy going."

Just a comparison, Schillerová explains

Novinky's editorial team reached out to the government press office for comment, but no response has been received so far. On Tuesday afternoon, at a rally in Kladno, Babiš said he was speaking hypothetically: "Theoretically, people could buy out the Czech state's debts."

According to Rusinek, Czech citizens currently hold roughly five percent of the national debt, whereas in Poland the figure is 12%, and in Hungary 19%. "The state doesn't need to sell off the entire debt at once. It needs to issue new bonds every year and refinance those coming due," the economist noted.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz